Jordan B. Peterson is a psychology professor at the University of Toronto Canada. He teaches lessons on personality, and a class called Maps of Meaning, which explores man’s search for meaning throughout history. Peterson has also taught at Harvard University and works on improving methods of therapeutic counseling. Recently, Peterson has exploded in popularity. Peterson is both praised and hated across the United States and Canada for his campaign against political correctness. How did this come to be? How did Peterson go from an unknown professor to blowing up the internet? With every passing day, Peterson grows in popularity and influence on social media, university campuses and even in politics.
On Oct.11, 2016 Peterson led a protest at the university of Toronto against bill C-16, advocating for free speech. Bill C-16 made the criticism of gender identity illegal. This forced professors and students to acknowledge transgendered students with their correct pronouns. It also ended any criticism of genders advocated for by trans individuals and the communities on university campuses. Soon after the protest began, radical leftists began to swear and shout the word “shame” at Peterson and his supporters. Violence ensued, and police were called to the scene to stop what would soon become a riot at the hands of the radical left-wing students.
After the protest, Peterson was asked whether he was afraid to lose his job at the University of Toronto. His response to Lauren Southern, who represented Rebel Media, was "Not particularly ... lots of times in your life, you’re choosing between things to be afraid of. In fact, you're always doing that in life, and I've known for a long time that if I was gonna pick what to be afraid of, I was going to be afraid of not speaking rather than speaking. I see that I'm taking the path of least resistance, and that's how frightened I am of the alternative, and it's real. There are dark things brewing."
Since the protest, Peterson has received immense coverage on many social media and news platforms, as well as by individual writers and bloggers. Some of the names who have covered Peterson include Sargon of Akkad, Joe Rogan, The Ruben Report and Sam Harris.
Soon after the protests a debate was held in Toronto over bill C-16 between Peterson and C-16’s major advocates. This debate was thrilling to watch, and inspiring to watch Peterson hammer away his main point: “There is a difference between things you ought not to say, and things you can't say.” There is a difference between patrolling free speech through law, forcing people to acknowledge others opinion, and saying things which aren't nice. Peterson ended his argument with a resounding "that's that!" which erupted in an applause.
One thing that is interesting about Peterson is his sense of duty and urgency when he talks. Peterson doesn't speak about an optimistic future or offer a simple, happy reform to fix politically correct (PC) culture. Instead, he talks as if the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket, and that if we don't turn back now, we will reap dire consequences. Often, Peterson quotes works by Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, Jung and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, all of whom wrote of a dire world where the individual is abolished, and Nihilism reigns. Peterson compares PC culture with the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century such as the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, and Maoist China. To Peterson, if we are not careful, we can descend into the chaos of a nihilistic, totalitarian regime which determines what we are allowed to think. Peterson speaks extensively and passionately on this and is unlike other speakers in his courage and purpose. “Also, unlike other speakers, Peterson risked his safety and his job as a professor at Toronto after the protest in October.”
Peterson draws from the Bible and mythology to prove his points as well. Nihilism to Peterson is the most destructive force to man, and he believes that every person has nihilistic tendencies. We often think of ourselves as victims, perfect and right, even when we are clearly wrong. Often, we are not conscious of our own actions, as many never come to the realization of what their goals are in life. During one of his lectures, Peterson pointed out that if one wishes to live a meaningful life, he must realize that everything he does matters. Every action, thought, and word we speak must be done carefully, or we may never truly know ourselves. To Peterson, religion and mythology teach that life is suffering, and that living a meaningful life is crucial, not only to the major religious structures of the past and present but to every person.
Peterson continues to inspire students across Canada and the US. He still holds his job at Toronto and often posts his thoughts and lectures to his YouTube channel. Recently, Peterson criticized bill M-103 which would ban criticism deemed as "Islamophobic" on university campuses. Peterson is not only a powerful fighter for free speech but a prominent philosopher and psychologist. His lectures are conscious and inspiring.
Peterson fights not only for freedom of expression but for the quest of meaning itself.
