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Philosophy. Psychology. Self-Improvement. Nonfiction. HTML:#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER What does everyone in the modern world need to know? Renowned psychologist Jordan B. Peterson's answer to this most difficult of questions uniquely combines the hard-won truths of ancient tradition with the stunning revelations of cutting-edge scientific research. Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate awaits those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you meet one on the street. What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster have to tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention as the highest of gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure and responsibility, distilling the world's wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life. 12 Rules for Life shatters the modern commonplaces of science, faith and human nature, while transforming and ennobling the mind and spirit of its readers.… (more)
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There's a plethora of self help type books out there, taking you, step by step, through ways to improve yourself. I've read a few and am a bit 'meh' about them, since it always feels you'd need to be reading and re-reading them 'in an undertone, day and night', in order to to re-shape your narural flawed inclinations. One read might impress you- but can it honestly effect any change?
Peterson's book, for all its fun chapter headings is emphatically not to be read with the expectation of something light and simple. It's readable, but you sure have to concentrate. And it moves from little individual things into the bigger picture of how society is going. Thus Rule 11 "Do not bother children when they are skateboarding" begins by advocating adults not to wrap up kids in cotton wool, not to forbid all risks. But this simple idea is followed on to the increasing societal emphasis on the 'nice, safe, accepting" ethos enjoined on all - the feminization, Peterson argues, of society, the vilification of the male. Well argued and with many references to notale philosophers- and the Bible- he writes an impressive and all-encompassing tome.
I feel I should have made copious notes. I've only scratched the surface..and it's due back at library But this is emphatically worth reading, if only to realize there actually ARE great brains out there who 'get' the strange and entirely irrational beliefs which postmodernism has led to in 2019
That one must be aware of one's own dark side and use it to become a more capable and resilient person. That one should always speak the truth, regardless of the immediate cost. That to act for the alleviation of suffering in the world is a worthier and more practical goal than to pursue happiness. That you have an obligation to take care of yourself, just as you would take care of others who need your help. That you should truly listen to people that you disagree with, although true listening is one of the hardest things you'll ever master. That everyone suffers, and that if you are not suffering now, you one day will, and soon; and that to understand this requires you to be both compassionate and strong.
These are worthy thoughts. They, and others, are expanded upon at length in a clear but entirely non-condescending way that leaves plenty of room for the reader to disagree. Whatever Peterson's actual politics, they're mostly left out of this book; he does make crystal clear that he believes Marxism, and not just its most famous 20th-century expressions, to be evil at its core; that's a conclusion I haven't come to yet. (One the foundational texts that influenced Peterson strongly as a young man was Solzhenitzen's The Gulag Archipelago; he claims that no one can read it without coming to the same conclusion. I'll be checking it out.) I'm certain that Peterson is no ally of the alt-right, which is a reactionary expression of identity politics for white males—Peterson views identity politics as inimical to the open debate of ideas that's needed to discern truth. That Peterson is anti-feminist is probably true from many perspectives, since feminism as it's currently understood denigrates many of the values that are traditionally associated with the female, and seeks to redress historical imbalances by reducing or discounting gender differences. Peterson is too much of a Jungian for that.
The chapters are illustrated by charming cartoons of Peterson's own children when they were younger, usually in front of famous works of art. This corresponds with the the emotionally open tone of the book. In short, there's a lot to engage with here, and it's presented in a generous and forthright way. I don't expect everyone who reads this book to be converted to Peterson's way of thinking, but I do think that if more people read it, it would move our culture a little bit away from unreasoning warfare into the realm of intelligent discussion.
Rule 2 Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping
Rule 3 Make friends with people who want the best for you
Rule 4 Compare yourself with who you were yesterday, not with who someone else is today
Rule 5 Do not let your
Rule 6 Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world
Rule 7 Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
Rule 8 Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie
Rule 9 Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t
Rule 10 Be precise in your speech
Rule 11 Do not bother children when they are skate-boarding
Rule 12 Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
Peterson is highly critical of Critical Theory (cultural Marxism) devleoped in 1930s by Max Horkheimer: Western principles (individual liberty, free markets) were a mask to cover inequality, dominance, exploitation; intellectual activity needs to be redirected from seeking understanding to seeking emancipation from the enslavement of the oppressors. Especially pernicious is the way postmodernists (Jaques Derrida most specifically) picked up the Marxist reduction of society & history to economics (culture as the oppression of the poor by the rich), and re-deployed it as a structure of injustice founded onpower (as opposed to monry/wealth). Thus hierachical strutures emerged to include (insiders) and exclude (outsiders=oppressed). Hierachies exist for the sake of the ill-gotten gain accruing to the opressorss from the opressed.
Highly anecdotal, longer than it needed to be. A self-help book by a story-teller - not dissimilar from other books I've read from psychologists. But he has no patience with cultural marxism/feminism, etc.His views on the pernicious character of feminist cirticisms of "the patriarchy" closely mirror my own thoughts.
Contrary to its subtitle "an antidote to chaos", it is pure chaos, much too long, convoluted, with many digressions and loose ends, full of stories that bring little or none value to the argument for the choice of those 12 rules. Analogies used by the author are far-fetched and often fail to take into account the nuances and complexity of human life. There is little research done to validate those rules, and when data is presented it is cherry-picked and often misinterpreted in favor of the author's thesis. For many rules the only justification is "because I say so. Period" or "I had this one situation and it worked for me, so it's universal" or "because the Bible says so. Period" (and I have nothing against the Bible itself, just missing a bit more contemporary source of knowledge to argument applicability of those rules to modern life... or, in fact, any other source).
And the worst part is that this book is not totally bad. As in any chaos, as the author repetitively claims, there is some order - there are bits and themes that are interesting and make you question rules of life as you know them. They lure you deeper into the book wishing there will be more, that it will get better later on... but it doesn't. Some rules are written more coherently, some are painful to go through without a facepalm, some provide some insight, some are banal, all of them seem to miss the editor work.
I expected much more of this book and I wish I had stopped at watching videos with Peterson. My recommendation is rather to explore YouTube than start reading this book as for me it was a waste of time.
I believe the commentary in this book is very much a
I do question the author’s accurate understanding of the Christian faith. I think he sometimes takes verses from the Bible and completely misinterprets them – and he quotes the King James translation, which can be one of the most difficult to read – its language is quite archaic and not understandable by many today. That is not to say that it is not understandable, but for some, the language needs to be carefully explained - for example, when was the last time you heard the word “hewn” commonly used?
To his credit, the author has admitted having some difficulty with the Christian faith and its tenets - so his misunderstanding of it could be forgiven. However, quoting a different translation of the Bible in the book would be so much better for those who are not Christians, and for those who struggle in reading and understanding the Bible, and doing so would all more emphasis to his discussion of his rules.
Also, I think in some cases he drones on in his discussions – some of this chapters could be reduced in length. I read many books a year, some of which can be technical, a lot of non-fiction, and even I struggled getting through some of the discussion.
On balance, however, the book is very well done and does fully explain his reasoning for why following all the rules would result in a less chaotic life for many. I do recommend the book, but more strongly recommend you view his videos and perhaps see him speak in person.
1: Approach the world with the semblance of confidence and in a manner that implies you are worthy of respect.
My version: smell bad!, be surly, give off the air and demeanor of an anthropomorphic cockroach, the world will respect you because of your inner
2: How would you help someone in your situation, education, moving to a place with better employment prospects, asking for a promotion or raise, looking for a better job?
My version: Treat yourself like crap; it’s all meaningless and you should definitely drink more/eat more/stay with that abusive partner etc, because changing would mean admitting you were doing something wrong now?
3: Surrounding yourself with people who are happy to assist you (and you them), those whom you think it’s a good idea to learn from or emulate for reasons such as contentment, material success or even stress relief.
My version: Bazza the drug dealer is my mate, johhno the publican is awesome as well and Louie the pimp looks after me so well. I should definitely let them assist me through my life...
OK. Let me put it this way. Peterson decries the rights agenda and the railing against patriarchy, partly with the argument that Western society is the least partiarchal and the most free there has ever been. But he never asks himself why this is so, because the answer of course is that those freedoms have been won by people in the past railing against oppression and proclaiming their own right to a place at the trough - workers, women, minorities. If there hadn't been those 'progressive' moves, for want of a better word, we would still have slavery, we would have less worker representation than we do (though we're heading the wrong way again), women would still be tied to the home, and so on. He doesn't patriarchy because he doesn't suffer from it, only benefits. He prizes the individual because in the old formulation the concept of a sovereign individual was formulated by people just like him. It's no accident that libertarians tend to be white men who feel insulted at the thought that others might lump them into a group - whereas women and minorities tend to feel the sharp end of group identity through years of being treated as a member of a group first and an individual second. And I'm a white man to whom his message has strong appeal. But it's a flawed message. As St Paul said, first take out the log in your own eye. Peterson, the biblical scholar, should think on that.
It is incredible that an obviously clever and articulate bloke like Peterson actually has so little to say when you boil it right down. And that he takes such a long time to say it.
In terms of unintentionally funny right wing diagrams, Peterson's yin yang chart is up there with Sebastian Gorka's terrorism diagram. It actually equates 'femininity' with 'chaos', 'night' and 'the unknown'.
Bottom-line: Most of Petersons stuff isn't particularly new; it's a version of Stoicism in many respects, and the absolute antithesis of the modern collectivist "therapy culture" which seeks to label you as part of a victim group under attack from the world at large.
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Though anyone interested in self-improvement should read this, people interested in mythology, psychology, and neuroscience should read this as well. He covers a lot of subjects. What I like about this book in comparison to his lecture, is that in his lectures he's talking constantly and can be hard to take in everything he says, which is a lot and it's really freaking deep. But in the book you can digest things at a much friendlier pace, at least for me anyway.
One thing I would mention is that even though anyone could read this book, like his lectures, it's apparent that they have a greater effect on men. Women, of course, can and should read the book. But like he says a lot in his lectures, men seem to be needing the messages he conveys more so than women.
Depending on the reader, this could be a very hard read. Not that it's super complicated, it can get technical yes, but not impossible at all. It's just that the "truth bombs" that he drops can be devastating. But he also tells you that it's completely okay to feel that way, and that means that there's something about you that needs tending-to and fixing. This doesn't mean that all hope is lost for you, on the contrary, you have in you the amazing potential to become something far more than you think you are.
"Don't let who you are get in the way of who you could be", this is one of my favorite quotes of Dr. Peterson. Aim high and do all you can for the highest and best good for yourself, because you've got one life and you're all in, this is going to kill you, so why not go and find out what you are truly capable of. You're going to make mistakes, and that's the absolute best thing you need to do, because that means you're getting more and more oriented towards your goals and who you are.
I felt humbled and hopeful after finishing the book. Please read.
Don't be mislead by the seemingly simple nature of the rules such as Stand up straight with your shoulders back or Tell the truth – or, at least, don't lie. These are merely pithy ways of referring to some challenging ideas on the way to live our lives. This is a book to chew on and to think critically about -- and may provide you with some significant ideas on how to live in the chaos of the modern world.
The way it was written is unique; sometimes it goes on a detour epxlaining something that you might wonder what does this have to do with the chapter’s title. But then you will learn something new and finally know why he had to do this; if you follow his lectures you will know that he like to talk! This book shows that Peterson knows what he is talking about and use the data to back up his opinion, but also there is a sense that what he thinks is also something that can be discussed further. Nonetheless, if you are a realistic person brave enough to accept that everyday is a struggle and the world is not heaven, this book is for you. Having read some of the books he read like Dostoevsky and Orwell’s it helps to understand why he sees the world the way he sees it (probably too dark for those who likes a more positive approach) but for me, it is very realistic, scientific and very helpful to make life easier and meaningful. Jordan Peterson is one of the best lecturer and thinker in this era.
However, the book is not a jargon-filled exposition of
If you want to have a more pleasurable and productive life, then take his advice.
Trying to read so much meaning into the Bible is a bit like astrology. You learn nothing about the planets and there is nothing the planets can tell you about you but you learn a lot about whoever is doing the horoscope.
For
A surprising amount dedicated to rearing children but parents can't help themselves I guess.
I don't think I'll get anything out of this book.
It doesn't sound like the rules are important, or I just don't understand them.
I knew the idea of rules providing guidance on how to move from point A to point B in life, it’s a vague idea. Yet I gave it a try and I am not sorry. I do really like how smart and strong human beings are and the promise of a
The problem, JBP is not discussing why people aren't taking the responsibilities. Something important to discuss before listing the rules.
Well, the reason is biological - people have to experience unconditional support before they will be able to make choices and to take responsibilities that are right for them. As we all were supposed to experience the first formative years of our lives. The sense of self is developing out of acceptance of our primal urges. When a person is ready to take responsibilities, when self is ready to give back? Certainly not before it's formed.
Attachment it’s a way more acute need for survival then self or authenticity. A person who feels safe in her attachment, who internalizes a voice that accepts her authentic desires and needs, is able to make choices and decisions that benefit her growth, her unique set of needs. And how many of us can brag having that kind of enlightenment?
Feeling alive, being aware of being alive it’s an experience of our inner world coming in touch with our environment. A close circuit of believing in something and testing it, time after time. This is how we connect the idea of self to the environment and therefore feel alive, rather than spirit wondering in space.
Authority giving the green light for experimenting in a safe box of 12 rules may be a relief but what kind of experiments will we choose if we are still afraid of being authentic? To invest precious life testing someone else's idea of what life should be like is depressing by itself.
There is no point to have rules or to take even more responsibilities. The point is to support the person in her desire to find what feels right for her, what she believes at and then help her to test it. It doesn't matter what good are beliefs, the process it's the one who provides meaning and fills the void. The point is to follow a person in the process of moving in this close circuit “belief - environment test”, to reassure that it’s not a ladder ending in the air when inner reality and environment don’t come along. And to keep from delusion of moving up in hierarchy when beliefs and environment are coming along.
The greatness of life is experienced when a person allows herself to live up to her inner desires, therefore inevitably making mistakes and failing. Following rules that other people find right for themselves and even partially supported by science, will not bring a person closer to herself. JBP is maybe smart but unable to give others the priceless, unique feeling of being alive.
He also judges the ones who aren't taking the responsibility on themselves by saying their core values are corrupted. They are corrupted only in light of 12 rules, those have little to do with particular human life.
I think people aren't trying because they can’t rely on other sources of support. Maybe their brains architecture lacks dopamine and serotonin, maybe their environment is too harsh and they are exhausted. Why otherwise would they deprive themselves from something as cool as fulfillment in a career or having friends and family?
The unconditional support groups on Facebook are a great testing platform to learn what it is at all and also shows how starved are people to this kind of communication, maybe even since their birth. It’s not intelligence we lack to make our lives better, neither responsibilities. We lack unconditional support.
So JBP is a peculiar person and interesting to read but his rules aren't for me and many others who have to meet their attachment needs first.
The only motivation the book gave me is to practice more self compassion, to support my least heard voices and to see how it works for me.
Because lobster males subjugate lobster females - it's fighting the natural order of things for women to resist subjugation. Because women are outperforming men in school and the workplace, women should be resisted in school and the workplace - so men don't feel outperformed. It hurts their feelings (the feelings they don't have, at that... don't ask me to make it make sense - the point is that it doesn't pass the merest scratch test on any area of its philosophy). Because a man invented the tampon (in a nation and cultural climate where female industry hadn't a prayer of gaining traction), there is no patriarchy (I shit you not).
After telling his audience what an ideologue is, and why they are to be avoided and cautioned against, he reveals to his literate audience that he is exactly that - while the portion of his audience who came for the delicious bowl of red pills yuck it up at the concession stand.
Truly a wine that pairs perfectly with the age of Trump - while proudly parading the irony in front of anyone who knows what irony actually is. Another example of a personality that unintelligent people will mistake for intelligent - because they have the same brands of hate, now with 100% more multisyllabic apologetics. Nothing could be more reprehensible than lying and deception, he says - while paving the hungry minds of confused and frightened white guys with arguments designed to make them think Orwell is holding their hand up the cattle chute into an age of tyranny.
Please teach your children well. Otherwise, some of them will be drawn under this tent - where might always makes right, and the downtrodden and disenfranchised are asking for it.
There are definitely things worth considering in the book but it's a hard slog to get from front to back.