Just like the idea of a human living solely on beef, salt, and water. That is undeniably good advice.īut the notion that only those with neat and tidy personal lives are allowed to criticize the world, is dangerous nonsense. Ironically, having a messy personal life doesn’t mean that Peterson’s emphasis on personal improvement, on finding meaning through responsibility, isn’t worth listening to. And it’s a rule that has no basis in reality - historical heroes like Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Peterson is the bestselling author of 12 Rules for Life, which has sold more than five million copies worldwide.After working for decades as a clinical psychologist and a professor at Harvard and the University of Toronto, Peterson has become one of the world's most influential public intellectuals. That rule functions as a cudgel, to crush the idealism of young people. It’s the kind of thing that sounds innocuous on the surface - after all, what’s wrong with practicing what you preach? Surely, there are plenty of obnoxious activists who could use that advice.īut the way Peterson promoted this rule wasn’t meant to encourage - he was essentially telling activists to be quiet, to accept the world’s structural injustices, because they were imperfect and didn’t clean their rooms, or whatever. "Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world." Which seems incredibly hypocritical, considering his big rule, one that he consistently touted while public speaking, which reads: Now, Peterson is back, and he is about to release another self-help book, titled, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |