Alan Watts--here and now : [electronic resource] contributions to psychology, philosophy, and religion / edited by Peter J. Columbus and Donadrian L. Rice

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Includes bibliographical references and index

Intro; Contents; Acknowledgments; Illustrations; Introduction: A New Look at Alan Watts; Curriculum Vitae; On the Taboo Against Knowing Alan Watts; Watts as Theologian; Watts as Contemplative Mystic; Watts as Zennist; Watts as Philosopher; Watts as Psychologist; Watts as Cultural Symptom; Here and Now; An Emerging Legacy; Notes; References; Chapter One: Alan Watts' Anticipation of Four Major Debates in the Psychology of Religion; The Perennialist Thesis; Psychedelics and Mystical Experience; Eroticism And Mysticism; Religion And Spirituality; References Chapter Two: Alan Watts: The Immediate Magic of GodToward an Apophatic Theology; Christianity Reconsidered; Conclusion; References; Chapter Three: Phenomenological Exegeses of Alan Watts: Transcendental and Hermeneutic Strategies; Transcendental Phenomenology and The Wisdom of Insecurity; The Natural Attitude of Insecurity; Bracketing the Natural Attitude of Insecurity; The Intentionality of Insecurity; The Second Bracketing Procedure; Hermeneutics and The Book; The Multidimensional Significance of Identity; The Differentiation of Identity; The Dialectic of Identity Intuitive Understanding of IdentityWhy Did Alan Watts Come from the West?; Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology; Conclusion; Notes; References; Chapter Four: The Psychedelic Adventures of Alan Watts; The Adventures Begin; The New Alchemy; The Trip to Harvard; Mutual Concerns; The Ontological Status of Psychedelic Experience; The Problem of Neuropolitics; Life on the S. S. Vallejo; In Retrospect; References; Chapter Five: From the Joyous Cosmology to the Watercourse Way: An Appreciation of Alan Watts; Set and Setting; The Joyous Cosmology; Life Is a Gesture; The Watercourse Way A Concluding AppreciationReferences; Chapter Six: Alan Watts and the Neuroscience of Transcendence; Transcendence in the Laboratory; EEG Studies; d'Aquili and Newburg's Neuroimaging Studies; Hamer's Genetic Research; Entheogenic Drug Studies; Persinger's Electromagnetic Field Research; Davidson's Affective Neuroscience; Watts and the Nature of Transcendent Experience; Watts and Neuroscience in the Twenty-First Century; Notes; References; Chapter Seven: Listening to the Rain: Embodied Awareness in Watts; Awareness Naked and Clothed; Disembodied Religion and Sensual Mysticism; Writing Style Enter the Mind's ElephantAre we Connecting Yet?; Notes; References; Chapter Eight: Alan Watts on Nature, Gender, and Sexuality: A Contemporary View; Watts' Three Ideas; Nature and Gender; Polarity of Men and Women; Spirituality and Sexuality; A Contemporary View; Eco-Feminism; Beyond Polarity; Tantra and Neo-Tantra; Conclusion; Notes; References; Chapter Nine: Contributions and Conundrums in the Psychospiritual Transformation of Alan Watts; Watts in Theory: An Appreciation; Exposing the Myths that Guide How We See; Language, Science, and Poetry