I, like so many, discovered Dr. Peterson through Youtube, and the first viral video.  I was struck by his thoughtful responses and ability to sidestep rhetorical and logical traps, or fallacies.  That, in my opinion, was the evidence of a mature and honed mind; something I covet.  My covetous nature made me almost immediately put him on a pedestal.

I started watching more of his videos, focusing mainly on his classroom lectures, and later his biblical series.  I love his teaching style.  He is always inviting you down a path of thought.  Sometimes he prepares the path for you, other times he merely invites you to look its way, and ponder its destinations.

His lectures on the Bible are perhaps the most interesting to many, because you are on the cusp of his understanding and learning.  He is putting out questions, that he is ruminating on in his own being.  Inviting you to ponder the same thoughts.

And, that is the problem with people worshiping and elevating Dr. Peterson;

His teaching style is not designed for it! 

Sycophants and zealots who worship the messenger and not the message will immediately become confused.  Especially, if they don’t have the foundational knowledge that is required to ponder his thoughts, which is present in his University students he designed the lecture around.  He knows they know it, because he had taught it to them the year prior.  The lessons are built upon each other.  So, when he asks them to look down a specific path of logic, and ponder its consequences, they already know it may have been rejected by the world, but he is asking them to understand its beginnings, the philosophies that gave birth to it.  If you are someone without that knowledge, you may think he is endorsing that belief or logic, which is absolutely not true.

Watch his lectures in order, and stop them at any sign of confusion; and rewind.  If you can’t relieve your confusion within the words of the lecture, go back to his source material, or a previous lecture.  These are not the kinds of things you want to go through life being half informed and confused about.

I love knowledge and understanding, and am a huge fan of Dr. Peterson. I think he is doing “good” things for our society, and the world.  I also know, all good things will be corrupted by the fallen world.  The left corrupted his message by attempting to understand him through their ignorant Post-modernist Marxist worldview of identity politics; and he doesn’t fit.  This was clearly demonstrated in the now infamous Cathy Newman “interview“.  That corruption will never end from the left, no matter how far they veer from the facts or truth of what he is communicating.

My fear is actually on the other side of the political spectrum.

We know the left, the Postmodernist thinking elites, have purposefully rejected truth and logic.  Which renders them inconsequential in debate, but they are all powerful in cultural influence because of their control over group perceptions through the media and education.  Those of us on the right, have always been able to pull others to our side, precisely because of the rejection of the facts and logic from the left, and the deceitful nature of the media.  We have always been able to shine the light of truth on their beliefs and messages, then watch them crumble in the light.

That can be destroyed for many, by one ignorant zealot passionately sharing the misrepresentations of our beliefs.  Which the media is already doing! One impatient “student” of Dr. Peterson’s lectures, passionately going out in the world to battle the “other side” is the antithesis of his messages.

Those are the actions of an entitled and indoctrinated intellect; and the destruction of such an intellect is his life’s work!  The first version of that intellect he started destroying was his own.  Once he reaped the benefits of his own biases being torn down, and then rebuilt on logical evidence, he had to share.

Decades later, the convergence of all of his understanding collided with the insanity of a post fact society based on feelings and identity politics.  That collision shown in the form of his taking a stand against what has already been proven to be fatal.

He was the warning bell going off, telling us the air in the mine is bad.  Those who were also aware, but without a bell of their own, immediately cheered and celebrated the alarm being sounded.  In contrast, the majority of influencers in the world, are telling you to ignore the warning, and in fact; “who are you to question if Carbon Monoxide or methane is bad?  Maybe we are evolving into beings that like carbon monoxide?  So, before we stop sending more and more people into the mine, we will attempt to get a consensus from the many Social Scientists in academia and find out if excessive “bad air” is actually harmful to society.”

He’s a real answer, to a surreal world.

Real answers, for real problems, are liberating and empowering.  Nothing is as addictive as gaining understanding that reveals your world, and accurately predicts the behaviors of others.  You will hurriedly chase it, locking in each bit of information at the moment of its superficial “understanding”, missing its context and other defining characteristics that are needed for true understanding.

Those who have been indoctrinated, on either side, are the ones impacted by his truths the most.  Both have an intellectual experience similar to that of a diet having noticeable and immediate results improving your health.  You almost can’t help but become a zealot, hanging on his every word, with no mental checks in place.  Again, he has not designed his speech around that notion!

He has learned the value of the journey of learning, in those you are teaching.  Something, I have yet to do.  I am always desperately trying to get to the answers I have (preaching), instead of taking people down the journey of discovery; that I so enjoyed!  He knows better; the sign of a true teacher.

A true teacher who expects you to be a true student!

 

“The purpose of life is finding the largest burden that you can bear and bearing it.”
― Jordan B. Peterson

 

Previous Dr. Jordan Peterson article.

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