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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Rules for Life | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Rules_for_Life | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T08:52:30.445868+00:00 | kb-cron |
some of his critics might be surprised to find much of the advice he offers unobjectionable, if old-fashioned: he wants young men to be better fathers, better husbands, better community members. In this way, he might be seen as an heir to older gurus of manhood like Elbert Hubbard, who in 1899 published a stern and wildly popular homily called A Message to Garcia ... At times, Peterson emphasizes his interest in empirical knowledge and scientific research—although these tend to be the least convincing parts of 12 Rules for Life. David French of National Review called the book a "beacon of light" for the current time, with a simple but profound purpose "to help a person look in the mirror and respect the person he or she sees." Some critics, such as National Review's Heather Wilhelm and Toronto Star's James Grainger, were critical of negative reviews they believed had misinterpreted Peterson. In September 2018, Peterson threatened to sue Cornell University philosopher Kate Manne for defamation after she called his work misogynistic in an interview with Vox. Manne called Peterson's threat an attempt to chill free speech. Vox considered the threat baseless and ignored it. In a critique often shared by prominent intellectual Noam Chomsky, Nathan Robinson of Current Affairs called Peterson a "charlatan" who gives "the most elementary fatherly life-advice" while adding "convolutions to disguise the simplicity of his mind." In an article published in 2020 in the International Journal of Jungian Studies, "Carl Jung, John Layard and Jordan Peterson: Assessing Theories of Human Social Evolution and Their Implications for Analytical Psychology", Gary Clark offers a sustained critique of Peterson's thought as outlined in 12 Rules for Life. The article asserts that Peterson fails to take account of research in paleoanthropology, evolutionary anthropology and ethnographic studies of egalitarian societies. Such societies, which are believed to represent the ancient forager adaptation of H. sapiens, are matrilineal and lack social hierarchy. The author argues that a major sociocultural transformation occurred from this ancient adaptive complex with the onset of agriculture giving rise to modern patrilineal and hierarchical cultures. This view contrasts with Peterson's, which postulates modern social and economic structures are an outgrowth of the hierarchical impulses of our premammalian, mammalian and primate ancestors. This led the author to conclude that Peterson seems to have "projected his own cultural biases back into the deep past". In one of the only academic reviews of the book, B.V.E. Hyde wrote in Philosophy Now that Peterson has been misrepresented as pessimistic and far-right, arguing instead that his work is ultimately optimistic and sensible. Hyde concluded that Peterson's significance stems from "his realism about the human condition, his optimism about how to transcend it, and the simplicity of his injunctions," which provide psychological guidance during complex times. Hyde noted that Peterson's self-help advice is "almost commonsensical" and that he "writes forcefully for propositions which are largely unremarkable and, at bottom, totally agreeable," crediting this as the source of his books' appeal.
== References ==
== External links == JordanBPeterson.com – Peterson's website 12 Rules for Life – Penguin United Kingdom 12 Rules for Life – Penguin Random House Canada 12 Rules For Life by Jordan B. Peterson: An Excerpt – Penguin Random House India