Alan Watts Discusses Nothing

I truly believe philosophy really puts life into perspective when it seems out of focus. To me, philosophy in its self is a universal language, and any one can find a personal meaning through their own interpretation. I hope you all will enjoy these words in the video as much as I have.

reply to post by Arrrr
Contradictory and the laughing doesn't help the argument.

above is my opinion of the video. below is my opinion on nothingness.

God is in the nothingness but is not the nothingness, otherwise God would still be something.

reply to post by jmdewey60


if god is in the nothingness then it ceases to be nothingness it becomes "the location of god" that is ... something

reply to post by Arrrr

I remember reading The Tao of Zen as a teenager.It is a great read. Years later I heard some audio tapes from him- his voice is exactly how I heard it in my head. Very smart, insightful, peaceful man.

Originally posted by CaDreamer
reply to post by jmdewey60

 

if god is in the nothingness then it ceases to be nothingness it becomes "the location of god" that is ... something

(whatever I might say in reply would be subject to change)
Maybe that is my point, that there is no true nothingness as long as there is God.
I doubt that the author quoted in the video is supporting the existence of god so much as there being a thing, call it spiritual, that is beyond material substance.
I think the mind is not meant to understand the spiritual since it would not be utilitarian.
We always have to understand aspects of the spiritual through material descriptions.
There may be other minds who do not function as we do but we only see what they do, rather than themselves, since they have no material form to apprehend.

reply to post by jmdewey60


it is a great quandary and fun to discuss. kind of like Schrodinger's cat. reminds me of a quote from The Never Ending Story he is the force behind the nothing.

There is no such thing as nothing, because if it there was, we and Alan Watts wouldn't' be in any position to talk about it.

There can only be everything, as all there ever was, is, and will be.

There is nothing that is not. Therefore even nothing is not nothing.

That said, there is no PARTICULAR "thing"..

Originally posted by jmdewey60
reply to post by Arrrr

 

Contradictory and the laughing doesn't help the argument.

above is my opinion of the video. below is my opinion on nothingness.

God is in the nothingness but is not the nothingness, otherwise God would still be something.

It's all a question of perceptual limitations.

There is a labelled 'nothing nothingness' (the absolute vacuum) and then there is a 'something nothingness' (which is something mankind can't percieve, not even conceptualize.)

It's a semantic trap to call that 'god', because then all the 3.500 'gods' adherers will start a copyright process, and everybody will end by being thoroughly confused and royally bleeped off at each other.