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The Bruce Lee Library Research Project

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

Title

The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are

Author

Alan Watts

Description

A revelatory primer on what it means to be human and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence, by “perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West" (Los Angeles Times).

At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.

Subject Matter

Philosophy

Publication Year

1966

Publisher

Pantheon Books

Language

English

Files

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Collection

Citation

“The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are,” The Bruce Lee Library Research Project, accessed May 17, 2025, https://www.bruceleelibrary.jamescbishop.com/lib/items/show/1581.