Based on Jordan Peterson’s various lectures and debates, if I was to crystalize what I felt he was really all about at a fundamental level, it would have to be these two things: (1) Peterson really, really does not like it when people hold a blind allegiance to any particular ideology—he sees that as dehumanizing and destructive; and (2) Peterson’s main concern is helping individuals find purpose and meaning in their life in the midst of a world of suffering. And if I were to add a third thing (and this is what has propelled him to so much controversy in our society), it would be this: (3) he clearly feels that in our current day and age the major threat to our civilization is the ideology of the Far Left. In fact, it is precisely his criticism of Far-Left ideology that has caused so many to accuse him of being some sort of Alt-Right ideologue. This, in my opinion, simply is wrong-headed. The criticism of one extreme does not automatically mean one is a proponent of the other extreme.
But as I said in my introductory post, his book, 12 Rules for Life, is more about the first two things than the third thing (although he does address it at times in the book). And what I want to do in this book review series is actually take you through what he actually says in his book: I want to discuss his “12 rules” that he claims will help you find purpose and meaning in your life, because I think that is what really matters. In the midst of my discussion about Peterson’s book, I am also going to occasionally comment on Greg Boyd’s extended review of Peterson’s book as well. Like I said in my introductory post, I haven’t been all too impressed with Boyd’s review. He is halfway through his own 15-part series and he hasn’t even yet addressed any of the 12 rules yet. He has instead chosen to play what I feel are academic games: instead of discussing the actual topics and issues Peterson puts forth in his book, Boyd would rather wander off into the philosophical weeds. I found Peterson’s book to be deeply engaging—I wanted to read more because it was challenging and insightful. Boyd’s review, though, just comes across as dry and antiseptic. If you want to actually learn about what Peterson says in his book, Boyd’s review isn’t going to help you much.
Kicking Things Off: The Danger of Ideologies
The forward of 12 Rules for Life is written by Dr. Norman Doidge. In it, he lays out Peterson’s fundamental opposition to ideologies. Some might not be able to crystalize what ideologies are, but we’ve all seen our fair share of ideologues: they are on full display on social media and most cable news opinion shows. Doidge writes:
“Ideologies are simple ideas, disguised as science or philosophy, that purport to explain the complexity of the world and offer remedies that will perfect it. Ideologues are people who pretend they know how to ‘make the world a better place’ before they’ve taken care of their own chaos within.” (xiv)
“Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power, because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence.” (xiv)
If that is not relevant to our social and political situation today, I don’t know what is. And the thing is, deep in our bones we know this is true. We see it more easily in people who don’t share our own political bent; still, the challenge that faces us is to not be blind toward such tendencies in ourselves or “our side.” Let’s face it, there is something within all of us that wants simple answers. Even though we may say we want to search things out and dig deep to find the truth about a wide range of things, in reality, it’s really tempting to just put our brains in neutral and accept ready-made, pre-packaged answers.
The sad results of blind adherence to ideologies is that not only do the real challenges of life never get solved, they pretty much end up making things worse and you dumber. A more humorous example of this can be seen in the movie Idiocracy. The movie takes place in the future, when society has become incredibly dumb. One of the problems facing the United States is there is a nation-wide drought because the crops aren’t growing. Why won’t they grow? Because people have blindly believed the slogan by the sport drink company Brawndo (who had bought the FDA and the FCC): “Brawndo! It’s what plants crave!”
More sinister examples of the danger of blind allegiance to ideologies can be found in the murderous ideologies of Nazism and Communism in the 20th century, where millions upon millions of people were tortured and killed. In modern-day America, though, we see ideologues on both side of the political aisle basically verbally assaulting each other on a daily basis on cable news and social media. There is very rarely any actual engagement over the complexity of any given issue. Instead, verbal bombs and ideological slogans are simply hurled back and forth. And the danger is that at some point such toxic ideological rhetoric is going to spill over into actual violence—and indeed, we’ve seen occasional violent incidents break out a little more frequently over the past few years.
I personally think it would be wise for each of us, regardless of our political bent, when some sort of violence happens associated with “our side,” to openly say, “That is taking things too far. I will not be associated with such things.” It shouldn’t matter if it neo-Nazis or Antifa—we need to acknowledge that both are dangerous and toxic. Ideologies give far too simplistic answers, and if left unchecked, they easily become radicalized to the point of not only demonizing all other views, but ultimately of justifying and condoning violence against anyone who dares question them.
The Overture
In light of the dangers of ideologies that Doidge outlines, Peterson writes in his own introduction what the purpose of his book really is all about. While it is so tempting to just blindly buy into the ready-made solutions ideologies offer, the reality is such a decision is ultimately dehumanizing, both to ourselves and to all others. In fact, the problem isn’t just ideologies. It is virtually anything we turn to in order to avoid taking a look within—it can be anything from drinking, drugs, promiscuity, to getting in vicious debates online.
The fact is, life is really hard and is full of suffering, pain and confusion. The fact is, most of us are filled with feelings of inadequacy, doubt, and hurt, and it is no fun trying to work your way through all that. It is much easier to take the off-ramp in life’s journey and, instead of directly dealing with the deep challenges to your very soul, to simply distract yourself with other things. On a personal level, I know there have been more than a few times when I was feeling overwhelmed with some challenge I was facing at the time that I went online, directly to the Facebook page of someone I just knew had different political opinions than me, and responded to something he had posted, knowing full-well that he would respond shortly, and I could spend the rest of the night venting my frustration and arguing about some recent political dust-up, instead of dealing with the real issues I was facing in my own life. I couldn’t handle the pressures in my life, so I sought an escape to where I could release that pressure in another way.
Granted, sometimes we all need to sit on the sidelines and take a break from the things that are overwhelming us. But we can’t stay there. We can’t afford to give up and not confront those challenges. If we refuse to take on those challenges and work through the suffering and pain that will inevitably hit us like a semitruck from time to time, then we will be giving up on life itself—and the only other option outside of life is death.
As human beings we know this to be true—we see it in the stories of every culture throughout history. Just sit back and think about some of the most challenging and inspirational movies you’ve seen in your life. Chances are they are about the main character overcoming severe obstacles without and personal challenges within. Such movies and stories are ultimately about heroism in some way—and to become a hero, you need to step out into the chaos of life and you need to take on the challenges that life will throw your way.
In mythological terms (I got this from Joseph Campbell), this is sometimes known as the Hero’s Cycle. All good hero stories roughly follow this kind of narrative: (A) The main character receives a call to go on a hero’s journey of some sort; (B) On the journey he acquires friends who will help on the quest; (C) There are the inevitable challenges that will test whether or not that person has the stuff of being a true hero; (D) At some point though, the hero will lose his friends and find that he must go into the “belly of the beast” alone, with no help whatsoever, and face the ultimate challenge alone; (E) If he succeeds, he acquires the elixir of life or some key to salvation that he can take back to his home to improve and help those he loves.
Whether it is Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star, or Frodo and Sam throwing the ring back into Mount Doom, or any host of similar type stories, such stories are actually rooted in ancient mythology. And in that respect, Peterson rightly points out that many of the great myths and religious stories throughout history really portray the world as a great stage and life as a great drama. In doing so, they also tell us what role we are called to play. That, in fact, is the power of the great myths and stories—they tell us what it means to be truly human. To be truly alive, we must be heroes who face our fears and overcome the inevitable challenges in life.
But let’s face it, reading a story or watching a movie is one thing; having the courage to set out on our own life’s heroic journey is quite another. And the sad reality is that most of us are too afraid of life’s chaos to ever really have the courage to set out on such a journey. We love watching Frodo and Sam in The Lord of the Rings, but most of us would have turned around after the first encounter with the ring-wraiths. Too many of us are content to be the Lotus Eaters from Homer’s Odyssey, or we become like Miniver Cheevy, trapped in our own self-pity and resentment, drinking away our lives while bemoaning how unfair and hard life is.
Life is a drama. Life is hard. Life brings inevitable pain, suffering, and challenges. The only way to find purpose, meaning, and joy in your life is have the courage to confront the inevitable pain and suffering that life brings. That is really what 12 Rules for Life is all about. If I can put it this way, it is Peterson’s attempt to help you chart a course in your own hero’s journey. Or to put it in more biblical terms, you will never experience resurrection in your life if you don’t first pick up your cross.
In my next post I will begin to look at the first of Peterson’s 12 rules: Stand up straight, with your shoulders back. …There is a lobster involved.
