I have a pile of books on my nightstand and even more in my audible account begging for a listen. I generally hop around among my piles of tomes, but this spring I’ve been zeroing in on all things Jordan Peterson and forcing them on my husband and kids.
Peterson’s unflappable stance and rejection of modern day, politically driven social norms, backed by decades of study, has turned this Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto into a superstar at YouTube U. Definitely worth a trip over there. . . .
His latest best-selling book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, is proving to be a rock in the stormy sea of life for many.
Recently, his views on pronouns caused him a meteoritic rise in notoriety surrounding Canada’s transgender pronoun legislation.
Although his splash in current events caught my eye, (The infamous interview: Cathy Newman debate about post modernism, gender pay gap, transgender pronouns / 9 million views), it is his philosophy on relationships and the family that has held my attention. In an era where the value of marriage, let alone staying married, has been diminished, Peterson makes the case, based on years of research, and clinical experience, that we swing back the pendulum, and for good reason.
“You might think how stupid it is to shackle yourself to someone . . . but compared to the alternatives, it’s pretty damn good. Without that shackling there are things you will never ever learn because you will avoid them. You can always leave, and if you can leave, you don’t have to tell each other the truth,” said Peterson, speaking at a conference and seen on YouTube.
(To my kids if you are reading this: If you watch only one Peterson video that I’ve been bombarding you with, THIS is it!)
Wish Peterson (and YouTube) had been around 30 years ago. . . .
In his book, Jordan unwinds manmade chaos through archetypes starting with Adam & Eve. (He warms you up with some brilliant lobster philosophy too.)
It’s not a book you breeze through by any means. Rather, it does its part in stretching the mind which makes it all the more lovable.
Jordan Peterson, our modern-day Joseph Campbell, brings us all back to earth in an era of memes, tweets and 5-second attention spans.
“Where they (Peterson & Campbell) differ has nothing to do with their ideas about myth. They are from different eras. Campbell did not have to contend with the full force of postmodernism, political correctness, truth relativity, value relativity, and what I call selfish, secular, ME-ism.” said Tom Gi, mythologist / philosopher in a Quara post.
That’s my kinda crush.
Highly recommend 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.
I have the hardcover version, but I mostly consume the audio version.
If you’re like me, you’ll be hitting that rewind button often…
And getting lots of laundry folded while you’re at it! 🙂
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Some Jordan Peterson videos worth a listen:
Why marriage works. | Why Jordan Peterson’s marriage works. | Best relationship advice. | Relationships / Family / | Parenting (Best of playlist) | The Controversy: Equity / Transgender (Best of playlist)