Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by jovanh
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson
3.5
Jordan Peterson's core argument is this: people avoid deep thinking because it's easier not to. While I agree that deep thought is beneficial, I don't think avoidance is the root cause. I’d argue that most people are either too focused on basic needs, according to Maslow’s hierarchy, to engage in introspection, or they’re simply not wise enough to realize introspection is import. People don’t think deeply because they can’t, not because they don’t want to. But this book isn’t meant for those people—it’s for people like me, who think The Self is a worthy subject.
So, what’s my take? Here's the deal: I’ve never quite been able to follow Jordan Peterson’s reasoning. It’s not that he lacks logic—it’s just that his delivery isn’t straightforward. He’s so adamant about the nobility of his philosophy that I wanted to hear him out. I tried really hard to follow along. But he rambles. I would’ve appreciated this book much more if the ideas were better organized, without the unnecessary detours through symbolism, archetypes, and human caricatures. “Know what you want, and once you do, share it.” There, JP, I just saved you ten pages.
He wrote 12 Rules for Life after his publicly-shared list went viral, and he padded the shit out of it to fill up a 400 page book. It should've stayed in list form. If these rules had been scrawled in Jordan Peterson's personal diary and published posthumously like Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, I’d have little to say about them. As rules for his life, they’re mostly fine. I have a few quibbles, but on the whole, Peterson is aiming for nobility in thought and action, and I can respect that. But this is a self-help book, and as such, the advice is meant to apply to everyone. And, as is often the case with books in this genre, it falls short of its promise.
The value of having read this book is that Peters' views of gender roles has given me pause. I'm not going to write about it here, but suffice it to say, I have some things to ruminate over. I appreciate the chance to grow. Additionally, he's gave me useful advice for how to be an active listener which I intend to put into action. Goes to show there's almost always a thread of unity between all people.
So, what’s my take? Here's the deal: I’ve never quite been able to follow Jordan Peterson’s reasoning. It’s not that he lacks logic—it’s just that his delivery isn’t straightforward. He’s so adamant about the nobility of his philosophy that I wanted to hear him out. I tried really hard to follow along. But he rambles. I would’ve appreciated this book much more if the ideas were better organized, without the unnecessary detours through symbolism, archetypes, and human caricatures. “Know what you want, and once you do, share it.” There, JP, I just saved you ten pages.
He wrote 12 Rules for Life after his publicly-shared list went viral, and he padded the shit out of it to fill up a 400 page book. It should've stayed in list form. If these rules had been scrawled in Jordan Peterson's personal diary and published posthumously like Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, I’d have little to say about them. As rules for his life, they’re mostly fine. I have a few quibbles, but on the whole, Peterson is aiming for nobility in thought and action, and I can respect that. But this is a self-help book, and as such, the advice is meant to apply to everyone. And, as is often the case with books in this genre, it falls short of its promise.
The value of having read this book is that Peters' views of gender roles has given me pause. I'm not going to write about it here, but suffice it to say, I have some things to ruminate over. I appreciate the chance to grow. Additionally, he's gave me useful advice for how to be an active listener which I intend to put into action. Goes to show there's almost always a thread of unity between all people.