Self Help, Nietzsche, and the Patriarchy
Mohit Mookim

10 April 2018

自助为何会如此错误?中国伊朗亚洲杯比赛直播featured contributor David Livingstone Smith explains the atrocious politics of popular self-help guru Jordan Peterson.

If you thought self-help was supposed to stay outside the hustle-bustle of politics, you might want to take a look at this article (co-authored by John Kaag). This beautiful piece describes the links between the toxic ideas embedded (sometimes not so subtly) in Jordan Peterson's shtick.

As the title of this post suggests, Nietzsche's ideas about will to power make an appearance, alongside toxic masculinity.

Check out the article here:http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/04/god-is-ted-jordan-peterson-self-help-men/

Comments(7)

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 -- 12:36 PM

I had not heard of Peterson.

I had not heard of Peterson. It is probably just as well. He sounds like a cross between Marjoe Gortner and the worst of the worst tyrants and despots one might think of. The closeted comparison to Hitler sounds pretty spot-on as well. Every few decades, someone like this emerges and some naive individuals think they have found salvation; reached nirvana; and found bliss beneath the bodhi tree. I have never bought any of this. Everyone needs to make a buck here and there and it sounds as if Mr. Peterson has found a money mine. For now. Don't get me totally wrong, though. There are things I do not agree with when it comes to modernity. But I also have a pretty good 'spider sense' when it comes to charlatans and phonies. This guy smells like rotting fish. 'nough said.

kevins411's picture

kevins411

Wednesday, October 23, 2019 -- 7:29 AM

How can you have such a

如果你承认你甚至没有听过他说过的任何话或读过他写的任何东西，你怎么能对他有如此负面的看法?像那些写了链接文章的人，让他们的个人观点妨碍了诚实的评论，对任何阅读他们作品的人造成了巨大的伤害。彼得森博士有大量的追随者，并帮助无数人克服了问题。我高度怀疑，如果没有价值的存在，就不可能有能力每年获得相当于捐赠的近100万美元。仅仅因为他讲课时哭就无视他说过的任何话是荒谬的。可笑的是，在同一条评论中，你可以加上这样的语句:“我没有听说过彼得森。”，“私下里与希特勒的比较听起来很准确。”以及“但我对骗子和骗子也有相当好的‘蜘蛛感’。这家伙闻起来像腐烂的鱼。nough说。” I disagree, that is not "nough said". Your argument has exactly ZERO factual statements, and instead is equivalent to "I don't like Dr. Peterson, so you shouldn't either (even though I have not heard, read, or watched anything he has done, just trust me)." I highly suggest you do some introspective analysis and realize that getting your opinions from the titles of left leaning articles is not good practice.

pchandler@ies-engr.com's picture

pchandler@ies-e...

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 -- 1:45 PM

"How did self-help go so

“自助怎么走错了?”中国伊朗亚洲杯比赛直播《哲学谈话》的特约撰稿人大卫·利文斯通·史密斯解释了受欢迎的自助大师乔丹·彼得森的糟糕政治，以及彼得森的怪谈中嵌入的有毒思想之间的联系。"

Go wrong? Atrocious? Toxic? Shtick? How about we discuss the issue without the pejorative language? Agree with him or no, this is not an intellectually honest manner in which to begin the discussion. Can we start over? Or is this piece strictly an op-ed?

momookim's picture

momookim

Tuesday, April 10, 2018 -- 5:07 PM

I wrote this blog post, and I

I wrote this blog post, and I agree that I'm not trying to occupy a neutral standpoint in this post. We're not a journalist organization, but thinking of this post as closer to op-ed would be fair. I usually try to be more balanced in writing blog posts, but in this case, you're right, I let my strong feelings about Peterson shine through. I'm okay with that. Of course, I don't represent the views of the Philosophy Talk Radio Show or any of its sponsors—I only represent myself.

kevins411's picture

kevins411

Wednesday, October 23, 2019 -- 7:36 AM

I think your post is so

I think your post is so unjustified, that it can be seen as nothing but an opinion piece. To portray it as anything else would be false. The article you link to is also largely opinionated, and I doubt either you or the authors of the article you have linked to have actually done any meaningful research into Dr. Peterson's works. He has helped a huge number of people overcome their problems, he is extremely intelligent and well-educated, and the only thing that the left-wing media focuses on is misrepresenting his words, and portraying him as an "Alt-Right" white supremacist and misogynist. If everyone was as sincere as Dr. Peterson, I think the world would be a much better place. Instead, we are overrun with "victims" that can see nothing other than the imaginary oppression that they think they deal with every day. His book is great, and really speaks on how to get by in the society the left is creating; one in which emotions are quickly replacing facts. You really should do more research before attempting to condemn someone that is helping so many people. Maybe look in a mirror and ask who you have helped lately?

Harold G. Neuman's picture

Harold G. Neuman

Friday, April 13, 2018 -- 11:39 AM

OOPS? No, not really.

OOPS? No, not really. Obscurantism is only dangerous when it attempts to mask insidiousness All speech is free, until someone's sense of freedom is maligned.

James's picture

James

Sunday, October 3, 2021 -- 5:30 PM

I automatically disregard

I automatically disregard anything with the phrase "toxic masculinity" included in it. Masculinity is not toxic, and masculine traits are based in biology. Stop hating men for being who they biologically are. Of course, someone who thinks that gender is a social construct would say that masculinity is "toxic." You probably think it's just a stereotype anyways.

乔丹·彼得森是我听过的最聪明的人之一。他一直很鼓舞人心，就像他自己说的那样，唯一真正不喜欢他的人都在互联网上发表他们的意见。我相信他帮助过的很多人不会同意你所说的男子气概是有毒的之类的话。

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