Jordan B Peterson
Though the book is categorised as “self help”, and has the kind of material that would qualify it for that label (if you’re so inclined), I read it more as a bunch of perspective on living and being. Or rather, Being, as the author prefers. And perspectives there are – the psychology professor and practitioner refers to the thoughts of everyone from Nietzsche, Solzhenitsyn and Dostoevsky to Milton and Jung. Not to mention theology – Tao, Buddha and especially the Bible play a part too. To the extent that even the Pareto principle gets connected to a Bible reference.
The statement of the rules, are mostly straightforward (Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie) but seem to be bracketed by more quirky ones at the end – the last one is “Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street”. I found the perspectives to be thought-provoking, and especially liked the interpretations of Bible stories and the fairy tales we’re all familiar with. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, The Sleeping beauty are all stories that I now look at differently. And (unpopular opinion ahead), having been at the receiving end of the tantrums of ill-tempered kids in public places, I would encourage parents to read Rule #5 “Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them”. But I can already see parents frowning at me after reading it.
To be honest, until the end of Rule #10, I found his arguments by and large persuasive, despite occasional logic lapses, biases, and convenient interpretations. Rule #11 made me think quite deeply, because the deceptively simplistic “Do not bother children when they are skateboarding“, which begins harmlessly enough with the reason for the title, soon escalates into a full blown war with the “woke” world. What worried me was that the narrative was not completely incoherent and appealed to a part of me which believed that “overprotection” will eventually lead to a loss of resilience as a species, and narrower and narrower “tribes” will result in a groups of one, each of which will get outraged over something!
The professor though, went full throttle enough to make me question his belief systems. Add to that, the last chapter was classic self-help, and the coda at the end, insipid theology to me. However, I’d still suggest a read simply because it’s a good stimulus to reflect on one’s own belief and value systems, and as Rule #9 goes, “Assume the person you’re listening to might know something you don’t“.
P.S. In the author’s view, chaos is feminine. Interesting that “an antidote to chaos” is part of the title.
