{"id":25881,"date":"2020-02-14T12:21:46","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T20:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=25881"},"modified":"2020-02-14T12:21:46","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T20:21:46","slug":"connecting-with-jordan-peterson-as-a-fellow-sufferer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/connecting-with-jordan-peterson-as-a-fellow-sufferer\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting With Jordan Peterson As A Fellow Sufferer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jordan Bernt Peterson\u00a0(born June 12, 1962) is a Canadian\u00a0clinical psychologist<\/a>\u00a0and a professor of psychology at the\u00a0University of Toronto<\/a>. His main areas of study are\u00a0abnormal<\/a>,\u00a0social<\/a>, and\u00a0personality psychology<\/a>. Peterson’s first book,\u00a0Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(1999), examined several academic fields to describe the structure of systems of\u00a0beliefs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0myths<\/a>, their role in the regulation of\u00a0emotion<\/a>, creation of\u00a0meaning<\/a>, and several other topics such as\u00a0motivation<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0genocide<\/a>.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

In Paul Thagard\u2019s opinion, his examination of Peterson\u2019s\u00a0Maps of Meaning<\/em>\u00a0reveals a\u00a0defective work of anthropology, psychology,\u00a0philosophy<\/a>, and\u00a0politics<\/a>. Its emphasis on religious myth and heroic individuals provides a poor construct for understanding the origins of totalitarianism, and an even poorer guide to advise the way forward to overcoming its evils. Peterson\u2019s ideas are a mishmash of self-help<\/a>, amateur philosophy, Christian mythology, evidence-free Jungian psychology, and individualistic politics. While Peterson\u2019s book is murky, it is less meandering and disjointed than his videotaped lectures. [2]<\/a><\/p>\n

I reviewed three of his taped interactions and came away, wondering if I am only striving to connect with his arguments in reaction to the dominant arguments for postmodernism. Perhaps this is what academics do; they toil to argue against other academics. Perhaps like politicians, they focus on rhetoric and debate as most trial lawyers seem to do, where language becomes but an indispensable lever to win an advantageous position or counter-position, rather than share new understanding to move society forward. I am unsure if what I just illustrated is a modern or postmodern approach. Peterson\u2019s argument against the ruinous influence of postmodernism in politics and universities was probably the most cogent I came across.[3]<\/a> His main points seem to indicate postmodernism\u2019s view of \u201cthere are infinite ways to examine infinite phenomena\u201d falls apart upon closer examination because in reality (e.g., cosmos and biology), infinite ways must be limited to viable ways. Secondly, he equates postmodernism\u2019s political expression as Marxism which historically has proven to be \u201cmurderous and tyrannical beyond belief\u201d (e.g., the post-Stalin Soviet Union and Mao China). Thirdly, postmodernism is being propagated by intellectuals in the academy who simply are trying to tear down the hierarchies of power of others out of petty professional jealousy and resentment. Knowing the fallenness of my humanity, his third point, especially, made the most sense to me.<\/p>\n

I found Maps of Meaning <\/em>difficult to access, either in composition or content. His background and journey to understanding were probably the most compelling, including how his study of \u201ccomparative mythological material\u201d dispelled his painful demons of religious-based depression and anxiety.[4]<\/a> Most recently, I came across his health struggles related to several failed attempts to overcome his dependence on an addictive anti-anxiety medication.\u00a0His family has reported, “The uncertainty around his recovery has been one of the most difficult and scary experiences we’ve ever had.” Peterson has been taking medication for years to alleviate protracted anxiety following a severe autoimmune reaction to food. His dependence reportedly started last spring after doctors increased his dosage to help him deal with stress as his wife battled kidney cancer.[5]<\/a> Peterson and his family are suffering and merit our prayers and grace. As a fellow spouse of a person living with cancer, this insight into his humanity is perhaps the only connection I can ascertain to him and his work. These insights into his family\u2019s health struggles, in turn, make me wonder how much of his longsuffering bouts with depression and anxiety have informed his perception of his scholarship?<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>Wikipedia, accessed 02\/08\/2020,\u00a0 https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jordan_Peterson<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Paul Thagard, \u201cJordan Peterson\u2019s Murky Maps of Meaning: Peterson\u2019s Book Is Weak As Anthropology, Psychology, Philosophy, and Politics.\u201d, Psychology Today<\/em>, March 12, 2018, https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/hot-thought\/201803\/jordan-petersons-murky-maps-meaning<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Jordan Peterson, \u201cPolitical Correctness & Postmodernism\u201d recorded 09\/12\/2017, accessed 02\/14\/2020 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f5rUPatnXSE<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Jordan Peterson, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief <\/em>(New York, NY: Routledge, 1999) XX.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>Jonathon Gatehouse<\/a>\u00a0, \u201cJordan Peterson seeks ’emergency’ drug detox treatment in Russia\u201d, CBC News\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0Posted: Feb 07, 2020 9:38 PM ET | Last Updated: February 7<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jordan Bernt Peterson\u00a0(born June 12, 1962) is a Canadian\u00a0clinical psychologist\u00a0and a professor of psychology at the\u00a0University of Toronto. His main areas of study are\u00a0abnormal,\u00a0social, and\u00a0personality psychology. Peterson’s first book,\u00a0Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief\u00a0(1999), examined several academic fields to describe the structure of systems of\u00a0beliefs\u00a0and\u00a0myths, their role in the regulation of\u00a0emotion, creation of\u00a0meaning, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1321,1780,1779],"class_list":["post-25881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dminlgp9","tag-jordan-peterson","tag-maps-of-meaning","cohort-lgp9"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25881"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25882,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25881\/revisions\/25882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}