The JORDAN PETERSON Paradox

Jordan Peterson has undoubtedly been one of the most influential intellectuals of the past decade. But, throughout the years, he has undergone a significant transformation, and I wanted to delve into this transformation. This is the Jordan Peterson Paradox.
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0:00 - Intro
0:23 - The Jordan Peterson Paradox
2:46 - The Trans Activist Incident
4:58 - The Early Years
7:05 - How Peterson Won Me Over
9:41 - Peterson And Relegion
11:09 - Clean Up Your Room
11:27 - Peterson And Myths
15:52 - Peterson And Mainstream Media
17:09 - Peterson And Other Intellectuals
23:00 - Benzos Addiction
25:05 - Gabor Mate on Peterson
26:02 - Peterson And Daily Wire
26:55 - Personal Commentary

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[alexisboulerice-turcotte]

This vid is a masterpiece. It's a very solid synthesis of the issue, everything is put into context but always straight to the point.

[optimisticpessimist]

How does this video not even have 5K views? This is a masterpiece, great work.

[l_t_jn]

Thanks for the video. I want to add my view on what you said to be the reason why Dr. Peterson changed.

I think both of the reason you said can be valid. The thing is, regardless of which one is the 'real' reason, Dr. Peterson, before his change, seemed to be putting efforts intentionally not to pick any side at all.

He was always vigilant against being framed in one ideological side and being misunderstood for what he had not said but typical ideologue would have said. He was trying hard to convey only what he believes to be true and nothing else. He deliberately avoided using some typical, generic terminology 'contaminated' by contemporary ideological warfare. He avoided being provocative, and tried to make his point by telling detailed stories and studies.

Nowadays he openly picks a certain side, clearly demonizes the other side, using ominous labels when calling them, and often gets outraged like you depicted in this video. I think he gave up the effort needed to avoid getting misunderstood. In my opinion, he seems to be rallying his allies to smite the wrong-doing enemies.

Clinical, scholarly side of him had made him to help and guide people, hypothetically making him cover his strong political view, but enough persecution or attack against him, and it has been fierce, made him jump from the neutral ground to the safe, fortified army of conservatives.

[NPRixix]

Thanks for the video, I'm happy someone has addressed this. I also used to find his lectures very interesting, but following his recovery something certainly changed. Before I felt like I was listening to a psychologist, whilst now he just sounds like a conservative activist. He studied the horrors of the 20th century and built a very interesting philosophical view, which was mostly non-political and non-religious. But now those views and his psychology contributions have largely been taken over by politics and religion, which I think have diminished his intellectual honesty and have led me to lose interest in what he has to say. I didn't following him for shallow political punditry, but rather to listen about his takes on the field he is an expert on. It's a shame really, but what can you do.

[braydenanderson]

Really insightful video! I especially appreciated the clips documenting JBP’s origin and ascent.

The one thing I wish you had shown more was footage/content from his post-illness turn toward partisan politics (eg. his joining Daily Wire+). I think this would have been really helpful for better demonstrating the contrast/shift between “Professor Peterson, ” say, and “Partisan Peterson.” Perhaps you could dive into this in a future video?

Again though, great video all in all!

[giantessmaria]

i too observed this transformation and was deeply confused at first and then when i confirmed my suspicion, was deeply disappointed. Sad what tribalism does to people. I watch his old lectures as if he were a different person, and still enjoy who he was or at least appeared to be. Who he is now doesn't change much of what i got out of them, but it certainly has an underlying sadness for me now.... life is hard, and takes toll on us all...

thanks for the wonderful content my friend...

[lancelotdufrane]

Thank you for this. I read his books and enjoyed his lectures. After his illness, he seemed different. Can’t pinpoint the change, but it was a “ temperament/ energy shift. These days, the multiple daily posts, interests in reaching a mass audience, speaks to a different intention. I miss the Professor.

[evrikleiakokkinothanopoulo]

Jordan Peterson is a human being like all of us and as a human being he makes mistakes like everyone of us.
He has taken to much weight on his shoulders and he pays the price.
Gabor Mate and Jordan Peterson are both great teachers and healers, both use the language of healing but in different words.
O gift to the world, both of them.

[jedje]

I get the feeling that the later Peterson crafted a very well orchestrated persona around him, cause of the fear of being exposed to his own doubts and shadow side. Very aware of the power of his image, wearing expensive suits, appearing fit and with a fresh haircut, but at the sametime not so clear anymore in the mind. His words sound a bit lost; wondering around in his self-created maze of smoke and mirrors.

It is a pity, but someway understandable with his meteoric rise to fame and stardom in such a short time-span, and the public attention that comes with it.

All those millions of young people that look up at him, and all those critics that try to bring you down, demanding you to pick one side, cause it makes it easier chewable in the public story.

You must also take in account, his background is practical psychology, and not pure philosophy (having a more distant position in the world, like Zizek or Harris(neuroscience), standing further away from concrete reality). Therefore he provides another kind of knowledge-view, which I very much appreciated.

These discussions between all the big personailties are never really constructive. Its like a shoot-out, but they are all targeting imaginaty characters. Approaching problems from their own field of specializations, completely channeling out the wider view. They forget so often who they have in front of them. Cause that is someone who comes with a completely other way of perceiving.

A deaf person trying to convince a blind person, that what he hears is the real truth. Even Gabor Mate, the physician educator. He has a point, but it is not the complete story, although he believes so.

At the moment Peterson is far away from the careless, free, but passionate person he portraited before. Visible in the lecture series he gave in a random classroom in Toronto. Walking around in unfashionable clothes, drinking coke, taking it serious, but not too serious.

Thank you for the video, it is very well done, analytically as well stylistically.

[Quagmaier]

This was a really great analysis! About 4 years ago I discovered Peterson through some "motivational" videos.
He grabbed my attention really quickly. It was my first time I came "deeper" in touch with any of the topics he discusses.
Since I'm no native english speaker I had my struggles understanding him in at first. But I can say that its really his "achievement" that I'm able to formulate comments like that.
Anyways... Since my current belief is that he is right on so many things he is talking about, and you are someone who, at least you gave me the impression, are someone who looked at him a lot and are also pretty educated at his topics, I would really be interested in knowing if you think he is wrong on some topics and if so maybe let me know on which. Thank you so much!

[nhatthanhdoan]

Great analysis. I just came back to the community after a few years completely focusing on something else, but this video explain why Dr Peterson gives off this weird feeling recently. I thought it was me who changed.

[O.Shawabkeh]

One of a kind. When he went down, found not many were actually around him, and probably footed his health bill alone, he finally realized what some of us did after long thought and some life experience: the people loves drama, propaganda, and flows with their desires whether good or evil. Of course he realized then he's on his own after all, so why not takes a middle ground in what he believes while making a profit out of it like everybody does.
As for the R vs L, yeah sure thing both sides are profiteers, but who is sane and reasonable these days wouldn't align himself with the right.
Long story short, no body can argue with his main causes.

[L.I.T.H.I.U.M]

I'd be called a liberal atheist, and I've been riding the Jordan Peterson rollercoaster for what feels like an eternity. His intellectual gymnastics, courtesy of Maps of Meaning, totally wrecked my world view on religion, God, and perception. Gone are the days of my 13-year-old brand of atheism, handed down to me by the mighty Dawkins and Harris.

I hate Peterson's love affair with Twitter and his tag-team championship with TDW. But, I firmly reject the notion that he's gone down a rabbit hole of ignorance. Nope, he's actually gone up a few levels. Case in point, his fascinating discussions with John Vervaeke post-TDW fusion. They dive headfirst into the epic battle between religion and atheism: do narratives precede perception, or is it facts that do.

I once asked him myself, why on Earth he's cozying up to anti-woke-folks. Seems kinda counterproductive. He replied that the left-leaning crowd is ghosting his invite list, but he's not quitting. He's been chatting it up with folks who couldn't be more opposed to him, like Ellen Langer, Naomi Wolf, Hijab, Nawaz along with others (not debating, since he's quit them, thanks to their "win, don't discuss" nature).

He's hanging out with the Machiavellian conservatives too much these days. And we should stay away from Machiavellians. But hey, it's the dominance of the fringe within the fringe within the fringe. They have done this to the best of us. Pushing them back needs not a team, though. It needs to eradicate the concept of 'teams' itself.

Now, his development of "We Who Wrestle with God" includes his chats with Vervaeke, Huberman, and Friston. He's drilling even deeper into the bedrock he laid down with Maps of Meaning. Me? I'm here for every twist and turn of this wild ride.

[snooglehound]

Finally people are seeing this. I had noticed his radical change of "Public" perspective. I have wondered if he always held the hardline conservative and religious beliefs but simply hid them to become popular or did his views change. I want to believe he changed or was changed while at rock bottom by some religious/conservative influence. (Or maybe swayed by money offered by the Right.) I wonder because I had a family member who was super liberal and during a trip to rehab came out a Christian Missionary, a literal traveling missionary. He went from believing in an infinite universe and massive personal freedom to became an unbending believer of nothing but a 6000 year biblically defined universe. In his case it lasted for about 10 years and eventually lead him to be abusive to his wife (justified by scripture), and then relapsed to drugs. If that is the case with Peterson it is chilling to think how a brilliant and curious mind can be reshaped under stress. Also keep an eye on Sam Harris (and a few other intellectuals), he has now tripped all the way into humans have no free will, which either leaves one with nihilism or God (an invisible guiding hand).

[yacwac]

Can you please tell the name of the background music between 17:10 to 23:00?

[YeS]

Well done man! This was a fair and informative analysis of the arc peterson is on. I've been a fan of his since 2016 and have noticed the change. I think the vile attacks he got from extremists, especially during a time of immense vulnerability (his wife had a cancer scare and he nearly died) made him crack. If he had stayed a professor and clinical psychologist he most probably would have been cancelled and his talent silenced forever. In choosing to join the daily wire and become an industry unto himself he renewes his survival both financially and cltturally im the culture war zeitgest/battlefield that is raging. Its a shame to some extent for sure. But more than anything its a sign of the times we live in. Like the egyptian mythology story it seems like he fought with seth and lost one eye. In the future hopefully he can place back his eye where it belongs and return to rule the kingdom with renewed intellectual energy. We all would benefit from that.

[venusian.academy]

This video was brilliant, Adrian! I have never seen Dr. Mate’s comments on Peterson but I found them spot on and confirming. It seems that for Peterson the deep desire for order began aggravating his chaotic element and instead of alchemizing it, there seems to be a further suppression that is visible now. I’ve noticed the changes in Peterson’s facial expression - one can sense bitterness and anger (understandably so).
Still deeply appreciate his brilliance and his role is bringing to light the polarization that’s happening all over the world at this time.

[danielzavalahuerta]

I will agree that I have sensed a change in Jordan and suspected that he has been captured by audience.
But I’m not convinced that Jordan’s rage isn’t manifest in an integrated way, which seems to be the argument made by the Gabor guy but I could be wrong since I’ve only seen that one clip.

[RanmaSyaoranSaotome]

The man isn't an intellectual, he's a talented sophist.

[Huhnrschrck]

I think you made a good case for your position. But i can't agree with your conclusion.

The mayor point of why Peterson seems so aggressive right now is in my observation a simly necessity. In a wold of mostly left media you simply can't expect to fight fair and win. Maybe you can make a case that there are simply no fair fights, but I thought that Peterson tried to fight faire and although he didn't lost but he also didn't win.

My personal observation ist mostly this: i am most of time simply bored by his new content. Why? Because it is nothing new. I watched so much that i can easily predict his next sentence or topic. Very rarely i get new impulses. Like the exodus series or his talks with rogan or modern wisdom.

Maybe you can relate too