Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons^™

In Search Of The Self: Eastern Versus Western Perspectives, Derek C. Wolter

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

In analyzing a mythological work, a proper understanding of the nature of the self and its relation to the Cosmos is essential. Alan Watts, the late British philosopher, proposed that there were two great myths of the self—myth here not used in the sense of something false, but rather as a way of interpreting oneself and one’s reality. In the West, there is a dualistic conception of the self where there is a clear distinction between creator and created, and Man and the self is viewed as an artifact of creation. In the East, there is a non-dualistic conception of …