Alan Watts Being in the Way Ep. 36 – Seeing through The Net
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Aug 27, 2025 
In a captivating discussion, Alan Watts, a renowned British philosopher celebrated for bridging Eastern and Western philosophies, delves into the fragmented view of reality shaped by modern technology. He critiques the reductionist approach to knowledge, stressing the need for a holistic perspective. Watts tackles the challenges of bureaucracy and the nature of desire, urging listeners to rethink their relationship with technology and the environment. He highlights the difference between mechanism and organism, and critiques the disconnect between symbols like money and true fulfillment in life.
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Triangulate Your Cultural Assumptions
- Western culture often assumes its own model without knowing its basic assumptions.
- Alan Watts argues comparing cultures reveals hidden metaphysical biases and clarifies our values.
The Mechanistic Worldview Shapes Thought
- Western thought models the universe as a construct or machine, shaping our language and logic.
- This 'mechanical' bias encourages breaking reality into discrete bits for control and measurement.
Seeing Through The Measuring Net
- Humans impose grids and units to tame the world's 'wiggliness' and make it measurable.
- Measurement and discretization are powerful tools but can become prejudices about reality's nature.