Who is Jordan Peterson? A guide to the next controversial Canadian to grace our shores

[TomSea]

Who is Jordan Peterson? A guide to the next controversial Canadian to grace our shores

Sophie Bateman

But who is he, what does he believe in - and what's with the lobsters?

A quick bio

Born in Alberta in 1962, Peterson earned a PhD in clinical psychology before going on to work as an associate professor at Harvard. He moved back to Canada in 1998 to become a professor at the University of Toronto, where he enjoyed a respected but fairly conventional career until 2016.

His 'big break' came when he posted a series of YouTube videos about how he'd refuse to use the preferred pronouns of some of his students and fellow faculty members. Those videos went viral, propelling Dr Peterson to internet stardom.

Thoughts on women

Continued at: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/08/who-is-jordan-peterson-a-guide-to-the-next-controversial-canadian-to-grace-our-shores.html

[Sanguine]

The author obviously doesn't understand what Peterson is saying.

[truth_seeker]

I was in the car, Sat. radio on either Fox News, Fox Business, or Patriot (Breitbart some of the hours)
and guess what comes on? An interview, with Jordan B. Peterson,, who is one ofthe biggest attractions around the globe.

Best selling book, his own podcasts, podcasts with others, member Intellectual Dark Web, sells outlarge venuesfor live talks, aroundthe world.

[truth_seeker]

The author obviously doesn't understand what Peterson is saying.

The Olde Media, are justifiably concerned by podcasters and youtubers,

Peterson was putting his classroom lectures up on the net, before the IDW.

#walkaway is mainly a youtuber activity--several really very good, too.

[Wingnut]

The author obviously doesn't understand what Peterson is saying.

Nor does she want to.  She is a Kiwi snowflake.  The worst kind. 

Not sure but I thought her and other cis ilk were trying to ban him from speaking in Auckland.

[truth_seeker]

Controversial podcaters like Molyneux and Peterson, and others, are routinely called racists by media and students.

Anybody that won't toe the PC line, is a threat to their agenda control.

Nither Peterson or Molyneux is any kind of a "racist," by any rational definition.

[Suppressed]

The author obviously doesn't understand what Peterson is saying.

How would you summarize what he's saying? 

(This isn't a quiz...I'm just curious how you'd put it...)

[Sanguine]

How would you summarize what he's saying? 

(This isn't a quiz...I'm just curious how you'd put it...)

Gimme some time.  It was long and disjointed from what I remember.

[Sanguine]

@Suppressed, here is a start.  There is so much that should be corrected and rebutted, I didn't get very far.  Let me know what you think.

Who is Jordan Peterson? A guide to the next controversial Canadian to grace our shores
•   09/08/2018
Sophie Bateman
It seems an improbably small demographic to be dominating the cultural conversation, but a third controversial Canadian speaker is coming to New Zealand.
His name is Jordan B Peterson, and over the last several years he's built up an online cult following, primarily among white men in their 20s and 30s.

“Cult following”?  Thinking is a cult?  What do they base this designation on?  And, ooooh, young white men.   

He recently posted on Twitter (where he has more than 800,000 followers) that he'll be gracing our shores in February 2019.  A bit of unnecessary snark.


But who is he, what does he believe in - and what's with the lobsters?

A quick bio

Born in Alberta in 1962, Peterson earned a PhD in clinical psychology before going on to work as an associate professor at Harvard. He moved back to Canada in 1998 to become a professor at the University of Toronto, where he enjoyed a respected but fairly conventional career until 2016.
His 'big break' came when he posted a series of YouTube videos about how he'd refuse to use the preferred pronouns of some of his students and fellow faculty members. Those videos went viral, propelling Dr Peterson to internet stardom. 

He has said repeatedly, going back to the actual even in 2016, that he would not refuse to use a person's preferred pronoun, and that he has not been asked to do so, and that’s not the issue anyway.  It was an issue of legally compelled speech.

Thoughts on women

Dr Peterson has received a lot of criticism for his thoughts and theories about women. In an interview with Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson, he said he said the idea that women were oppressed by men throughout history is an "absolutely reprehensible rewrite of history". 

That’s such a misrepresentation of what he said.  He says that women have a lot of inherent power and while there has been oppression, to see it as only such is a terribly depressing and minimizes power that women have.  There’s a lot more to this concept that should be understood.
 
He believes in "traditional" gender roles because he thinks men might simply be more competent than women, and he's suggested women wear makeup to work to be "sexually provocative". 

The reference for the first statement is a very anti-Peterson, anti-intellectual piece.  “In Mr. Peterson’s world, order is masculine. Chaos is feminine. And if an overdose of femininity is our new poison, Mr. Peterson knows the cure. Hence his new book’s subtitle: “An Antidote to Chaos.””  That is a complete and willful (IMHO) misunderstanding of Peterson’s theories, and may be based on not having heard/read anything beyond the Cliff notes version of his book.

Peterson did not invent the two complementary forces idea, and in fact the yin/yang symbol emblemizes that concept.
 

Many other traditions and philosophies use this type of symbology, Jung being one.  You would have to have actually listened to more of Peterson to understand these concepts. 

Re: makeup, that is also not a new concept.  Yes, makeup and high heels, and well-fitting clothing are used by women (gasp!) to enhance their appearance of vitality and sexual power.  We women know this. 

[Suppressed]

@Suppressed, here is a start.  There is so much that should be corrected and rebutted, I didn't get very far.  Let me know what you think.

Oh, @Sanguine!  I didn't mean for you to analyze this article for me.  What I meant was: what is it that you think JBP is saying?  I thought perhaps you had a good concise way of describing it.  I'm a fan, but I have a hard time encapsulating it.   (Though I admit I wonder whether some of his stuff is bordering on sophistry... or I'm just dense.)

But I appreciate what you wrote.  It's a good refutation.  You're right: the author is intentionally misrepresenting him. 

[Sanguine]

Oh, @Sanguine!  I didn't mean for you to analyze this article for me.  What I meant was: what is it that you think JBP is saying?  I thought perhaps you had a good concise way of describing it.  I'm a fan, but I have a hard time encapsulating it.   (Though I admit I wonder whether some of his stuff is bordering on sophistry... or I'm just dense.)

But I appreciate what you wrote.  It's a good refutation.  You're right: the author is intentionally misrepresenting him.

Oh, sorry, I completely misunderstood.  But, what you are asking for is to have a very good conversation.  Yes, I think I understand what he is saying, and that should be the discussion. 

[Sanguine]

@Suppressed, what issue were you asking about re: Peterson?  I'd love to discuss what I think he's saying.

[truth_seeker]

How would you summarize what he's saying? 

(This isn't a quiz...I'm just curious how you'd put it...)

He advocates "Personal Responsibility" (Not group entitlement)

He strongly opposes post-modernism, socialism-new left.

@Suppressed  @Sanguine

[Suppressed]

@Suppressed, what issue were you asking about re: Peterson?  I'd love to discuss what I think he's saying.

@Sanguine

Well, I think that that part of his message that resonates and is easy to understand is the importance of self-reliance and self-improvement.  And he discusses how hierarchies are natural.  Etc.

Those are pretty easy to encapsulate and convey.  Still, I'm looking for a way to encapsulate all those into a brief description to give to people who ask "Who is Peterson?  What's he all about?  What's his message?"

And then, it's when he gets to more advanced concepts that I find difficult to see where he's going sometimes, wondering whether it's a bit disjointed and there's more than what I see, or if I'm really getting all he's saying.  I'd love to see a bullet list of the points he makes, as he repeats the same ones over and over.

But I'm not asking you to compile something like that for me!  I was just curious whether you have a brief "elevator pitch" for him, where you can convey "what he's saying".

[Sanguine]

@Sanguine

Well, I think that that part of his message that resonates and is easy to understand is the importance of self-reliance and self-improvement.  And he discusses how hierarchies are natural.  Etc.

Those are pretty easy to encapsulate and convey.  Still, I'm looking for a way to encapsulate all those into a brief description to give to people who ask "Who is Peterson?  What's he all about?  What's his message?"

And then, it's when he gets to more advanced concepts that I find difficult to see where he's going sometimes, wondering whether it's a bit disjointed and there's more than what I see, or if I'm really getting all he's saying.  I'd love to see a bullet list of the points he makes, as he repeats the same ones over and over.

But I'm not asking you to compile something like that for me!  I was just curious whether you have a brief "elevator pitch" for him, where you can convey "what he's saying".

That's a tough one.  His public lectures came out of his classroom lectures, and those are based on standard psychology stuff.  Which I have a background in, so when he mentions Jung and archetypes, for instance, I am able to fill in the blanks and understand what he is saying.

Yours is a very good question.  Let me think on it.   @truth_seeker may be able to help here too.

[truth_seeker]

That's a tough one.  His public lectures came out of his classroom lectures, and those are based on standard psychology stuff.  Which I have a background in, so when he mentions Jung and archetypes, for instance, I am able to fill in the blanks and understand what he is saying.

Yours is a very good question.  Let me think on it.   @truth_seeker may be able to help here too.

@Sanguine @Suppressed

Atleast two books; most recent "12 Rules for Life and Maps fror Meaning.

Influenced by: Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky,

Scores upon hours of recorded lectures, discussions, appearances.

He is the "rock star" of the Intellectual Dark Web phenomenon.

My onlyadvice: Do not believe a word of his media, liberal detractors. That is lies, because he so threatens their world view and media control.

[Sanguine]

@Sanguine @Suppressed

Atleast two books; most recent "12 Rules for Life and Maps fror Meaning.

Influenced by: Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky,

Scores upon hours of recorded lectures, discussions, appearances.

He is the "rock star" of the Intellectual Dark Web phenomenon.

My onlyadvice: Do not believe a word of his media, liberal detractors. That is lies, because he so threatens their world view and media control.

I would add The Gulag Archipelago to that list of books.  He frequently refers to Solzhenitsyn.  Remember that he came at all of this discussion by studying the roots of WWII.

[truth_seeker]

I would add The Gulag Archipelago to that list of books.  He frequently refers to Solzhenitsyn.  Remember that he came at all of this discussion by studying the roots of WWII.

Thanks for that tip.