Thoughts on Jordan Peterson?
I've liked him for a few years now but am curious to know if anyone else on this site does.
If you know who he is, what do you think of him?
If you know who he is, what do you think of him?
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CopperCicada · M
I like Jordan Peterson for the same reasons I lover Christopher Hitchens. They are public intellectuals in the loosest sense of the word, while publicly being open and vulnerable regarding their own challenges and demons.
What I mean by the first part of that statement is that neither attempted to be formal intellectuals speaking ex cathedra from the ivory tower of academia. Both were really intellectual op ed commentators. I loved that Hitchens would get baked and hold his own with the greatest religious minds that have graced the planet. And do so with humor. Peterson is much the same. A relaxed informal public confession of his thinking. His words are relaxingly open. I was thinking about this the other day, and I started to wonder…
And what I mean about the later part is best reflected in Hitchens facing his terminal cancer, and being very candid about his philosophical and religious explorations of his own annihilation. I’m not an atheist, but I appreciate that vulnerability. And Peterson has that same rawness. He’s been very open about his struggles with anxiety, benzos, his struggles pulling himself out that. Even very open about his own spiritual struggles.
I have to say, I understand why Hitchens was a firebrand. He was passionate, charismatic, entertaining, a socialist, and came to be one of the most vocal not atheist, but anti-theist voices on the planet.
Peterson is hardly radical. He doesn’t write manifestos. He’s sort of boring and repetitive. And where he ends up is hardly the misogynist and queer phobic abattoir people describe. He’s not going to march in any parades but he’s clearly a libertarian and believes in basic human liberty and dignity. I end up agreeing with him on many things. Like legislated compulsory use of language being fucked and dangerous.
I sort of wonder why Peterson is so popular. And so hated. In alot of ways he seems very unextraordinary. I suspect it is some product of our times.
What I mean by the first part of that statement is that neither attempted to be formal intellectuals speaking ex cathedra from the ivory tower of academia. Both were really intellectual op ed commentators. I loved that Hitchens would get baked and hold his own with the greatest religious minds that have graced the planet. And do so with humor. Peterson is much the same. A relaxed informal public confession of his thinking. His words are relaxingly open. I was thinking about this the other day, and I started to wonder…
And what I mean about the later part is best reflected in Hitchens facing his terminal cancer, and being very candid about his philosophical and religious explorations of his own annihilation. I’m not an atheist, but I appreciate that vulnerability. And Peterson has that same rawness. He’s been very open about his struggles with anxiety, benzos, his struggles pulling himself out that. Even very open about his own spiritual struggles.
I have to say, I understand why Hitchens was a firebrand. He was passionate, charismatic, entertaining, a socialist, and came to be one of the most vocal not atheist, but anti-theist voices on the planet.
Peterson is hardly radical. He doesn’t write manifestos. He’s sort of boring and repetitive. And where he ends up is hardly the misogynist and queer phobic abattoir people describe. He’s not going to march in any parades but he’s clearly a libertarian and believes in basic human liberty and dignity. I end up agreeing with him on many things. Like legislated compulsory use of language being fucked and dangerous.
I sort of wonder why Peterson is so popular. And so hated. In alot of ways he seems very unextraordinary. I suspect it is some product of our times.