What does fame or being an alcoholic have to do with giving good advice?
Watts was smart, insightful, highly versed in philosophy and religion. Does being an alcoholic or a smoker or <choose your transgression> negate that?
Edit: it’s really sad that you would summarize this complex man as an “abusive alcoholic”. He dedicated decades of his life to learning and sharing knowledge, inspired millions of people, certainly advanced Western philosophy. In his late years he drank heavily - 30-something years after publishing his first book. What an unforgiving hypocrisy! A man with such a complicated story, a difficult relationship with his dad, failed marriages, just human drama that _all_ people have or will experience in their lifetime… what right did he have to disappoint you so tremendously?
> What does fame or being an alcoholic have to do with giving good advice?
You asked the OP to name someone, so presumably you're after someone famous.
> Watts was smart, insightful, highly versed in philosophy and religion. Does being an alcoholic or a smoker or <choose your transgression> negate that?
Not necessarily. Giving advice about those things is a separate matter though.
> Edit: it’s really sad that you would summarize this complex man as an “abusive alcoholic”. He dedicated decades of his life to learning and sharing knowledge, inspired millions of people, certainly advanced Western philosophy. In his late years he drank heavily - 30-something years after publishing his first book. What an unforgiving hypocrisy! A man with such a complicated story, a difficult relationship with his dad, failed marriages, just human drama that _all_ people have or will experience in their lifetime… what right did he have to disappoint you so tremendously?
I was using the OP's words. Was he an abusive alcoholic or not?
Sounds like you approach this debate as an exercise in argumentation, not as a discussion of Watts' life or his publications.
When I asked OP to name someone, I did mean someone well-known. That makes sense in the context of a discussion of a famous philosopher. Maybe a childhood friend gave you a good advice 40 years ago - we won't be able to discuss the character of that person here.
What kind of a person one must be for you to value their life advice?
> Was he an abusive alcoholic or not?
He drank heavily at the end of his life. Was he an alcoholic? Maybe. Was he abusive? I haven't heard anyone call him abusive before this comment.
> Sounds like you approach this debate as an exercise in argumentation, not as a discussion of Watts' life or his publications.
This thread is about whether we should take advice from an abusive alcoholic or not.
> When I asked OP to name someone, I did mean someone well-known. That makes sense in the context of a discussion of a famous philosopher. Maybe a childhood friend gave you a good advice 40 years ago - we won't be able to discuss the character of that person here.
So, unless you have connections, you're going to preclude people that actually know you?
> What kind of a person one must be for you to value their life advice?
It's a good question. I guess someone worthy of being emulated, and relatively consistent in their actions. Not abusive, at the very least. (I'm not claiming he was abusive.)
I think the best advice I have ever got was when I was talking to a shrink. He just asked me questions and let me talk, and then it was obvious what I should do because he had helped me make it clear to myself what it was that I wanted. So maybe I'd add that if someone is patient enough to listen, it would probably do you good to listen to them.
Why is that a problem? Are you your best you every day or do you fail at some things and still persist at trying? It's natural to know what's best and yet not to be able to follow that to a T.
I don't even fully understand the scope of this concern. He became a heavy drinker in his late years, not a child murderer.
Watts was smart, insightful, highly versed in philosophy and religion. Does being an alcoholic or a smoker or <choose your transgression> negate that?
Edit: it’s really sad that you would summarize this complex man as an “abusive alcoholic”. He dedicated decades of his life to learning and sharing knowledge, inspired millions of people, certainly advanced Western philosophy. In his late years he drank heavily - 30-something years after publishing his first book. What an unforgiving hypocrisy! A man with such a complicated story, a difficult relationship with his dad, failed marriages, just human drama that _all_ people have or will experience in their lifetime… what right did he have to disappoint you so tremendously?