![]() The human predicament: guaranteed suffering Underlying this homely and anecdotal approach is a professorial wealth of reading and research (as evidenced by the endnotes) along with decades of clinical experience of helping the disturbed – from the ‘worried well’ to the seriously psychotic. Peterson is unashamedly moralistic – but that is his point: not to be so has undermined both the fabric of society and our ability to be happy. The positives are all simple enough on the surface: ‘Stand up straight’ ‘Make friends’ ‘Tell the truth’. Both are about how to treat children, and while deadly serious, are frequently couched in humorous terms. ![]() Peterson steadfastly refuses to be fitted into any particular religious or philosophical grouping But anyone open to considering different worldviews of a metaphysical kind would be engaged by the overall direction of Peterson’s arguments. That is not at all his purpose, and those hoping for that will be disappointed. But what Peterson precisely does not do is write any sort of apologia or seek to defend the historical veracity of the faith. Yet he is one of those rare writers who is prepared to demonstrate unashamedly that religion – more specifically the Christian tradition – actually works: intellectually, psychologically, practically. Peterson steadfastly refuses to be fitted into any particular religious or philosophical grouping. But no one should think that the rules Peterson lays down are of easy accomplishment Norman Doidge in his Foreword acknowledges this. Anyone responsible for the care of young children would benefit from considering some of the pitfalls to avoid and behaviours to pursue. Students who are under stress could usefully read some chapters of this book, as should anyone thinking of starting a family. It is also fascinating and provoking for those who do not fit those categories. Peterson’s book is written in a strikingly relaxed idiom and designed to provide self-help to those who have lost their way in today’s cross-currents, are suffering mental health issues or are hesitating at a traffic-laden crossroads in life. Rather it reads as a deeply evidence-based plea for the re-establishment of the classic virtues and of faith in the pursuit of human well-being. Yet 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote to Chaos (2018) does not seem to me to be controversial for the sake of it or written primarily to draw attention to the author. One wonders what a university is for if not for the discussion of opposing views. Peterson is a controversial figure, highlighted in March 2019 when the University of Cambridge withdrew its invitation for him to become a visiting fellow – partly on the grounds that his views were ‘not representative of the student body’. We might describe him many ways: a research-oriented academic who writes out of clinical practice an egghead who is liked by the TV cameras an intellectual who likes manual work a philosopher who likes thinking well – but largely because it can help people get better. To say that Jordan Peterson is an interesting and paradoxical man is something of an understatement.
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