Summary
Alan Watts: Does It Matter?
This classic collection of essays by the distinguished philosopher Alan Watts presents the author's reflections on the astonishing problems arising from our dysfunctional relationship to the material environment.
With a recognizable wit, the philosopher best known for his works and lectures on mysticism and Eastern philosophy here addresses key issues of economics, technology, clothing, cooking and household.
Watts argues that we confuse symbol with reality, that is the ways in which we describe and value the world with the world itself, and therefore we end up in an absurd situation where we assume money is wealth, and we eat a menu instead of dinner.
Since our attention is focused on numbers and concepts, we are less and less aware of nature and our complete dependence on air, water, plants, animals, insects and bacteria. We hallucinate that the so-called external world is a collection of objects separate from us, that we encounter it and enter it, instead of exiting it. In these essays, the author offers us an insightful and spiritual approach to how to relate to ourselves, other people, and all living things on the planet we share.
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