Q&A [April 2019]

News

01	00:00:09 – Traveling a lot in May, next Q&A in June, but really liking the Q&A, getting better at doing Q&A on the road
02	00:00:38 – Details of debate with Slavoj Zizek 2019 April 19: debate livestream, online access later
03	00:01:47 – Season 2 of Jordan B. Peterson Podcast, details, General Stanley McChrystal, Westwood One partnership
04	00:03:38 – UK in May: 12 Rules for Life release in paperback with Penguin Paperbacks
05	00:06:04 – Self-authoring program, detailed benefits, including Future Authoring; Understand Myself, plus coupon MAY
06	00:11:50 – Interviews with Dr. Oz in New York, 10-15 minute video clips coming soon!
07	00:13:58 – Further thoughts on debate with Slavoj Zizek, have re-read Communist Manifesto, studying, preparing for tomorrow/2019 April 19

Questions

01	00:14:54 – 1 – If you had been allotted the opportunity, what would you have discussed with Nietzsche?
02	00:28:18 – 2 – I live in constant worry my children are going to be hit by a car, kidnapped, murdered, beaten up. It’s a torture. How can I stop?
03	00:40:38 – 3 – News of real atrocities committed by humans esp. torture leave me physically shell-shocked and paralyzed as if I had PTSD. Is there something wrong with me?
04	00:45:48 – 4 – Dr. Peterson, I recently found out that my father was a former Khmer Rouge. I feel hurt that he is was part of the horror in Cambodia. How do I deal with this?
05	00:50:47 – 5 – The Greeks had the maxim, “know thyself”. How do we come to know ourselves in terms of our personalities and, more importantly, potential?
06	01:06:20 – 6 – How do you reconcile the fact that Nietzsche is often taken to be a precursor to Postmodern philosophers like Foucault? Do the PMs misuse Nietzsche?
07	01:18:54 – 7 – How have you prepared for your debate with Zizek? What are your goals for the conversation to be productive?
08	01:30:14 Conclusion, studying and preparation;

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Jordan Peterson Q and A Archive

Q&A [March 2019]

 

01	00:30 update
02	05:00 what is your favorite soup?
03	06:10 when will you restart your Bible series?
04	10:33 how can I teach my children the biblical stories in a productive way without the dogma or literal interpretation of organized religion?
05	13:14 what question are you asked way too seldom?
06	31:10 don’t you find it interesting that people are coming to your lectures and are psychologically and philosophically inclined?
07	34:08 how to balance between keeping peace and speaking truth in an intimate relationship?
08	49:03 how can I transition to having fewer but better friends?
09	53:00 Disney and Marvel has taken a direction towards promoting SJW agendas, despite backlash. Thoughts?
10	55:30 what is the soul to you?
11	1:07:01 what are some practical ways to organize people interested in reinforcing western values and culture without attracting extremists?
12	1:13:53 how to find friends as a traditional woman?
13	1:24:39 how do I stop emotional eating?
14	1:28:10 what can we do to stop identity politics from the Silicon Valley?
15	1:31:15 I procrastinate, how do I avoid this?

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Q&A [January 2019]

Announcements

01	[1] 0:00:14 – Leaving Patreon in protest of recent banning of Carl Benjamin from the platform
02	[2] 0:02:24 – Working on new book, tentatively titled: “Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life”. List of rules included (see below). Estimated publication in Jan 2020.
03	[3] 0:05:00 – Upcoming locations for 12 Rules Tour: Zurich, Australia, New Zealand
04	[4] 0:05:53 – Podcast release coming up with General Stanley McChrystal on his new book “Leaders: Myth and Reality”
05	[5] 0:06:30 – Recap of 2018, 50% discount on Future Authoring program

Questions

01	0:11:30 – (Q#1) Can you talk about your own experiences / methodsd for “shadow integration”?
02	0:24:28 – (Q#2) How can I help my parents to sort themselves out? How can I talk about the resentment of my childhood in a way that benefits them instead of giving them guilt?
03	0:38:47 – (Q#3) It took me 7 months, but I completed the Self Authoring Suite. I’m still not motivated to do anything and waste all of my time. What do I do?
04	0:46:31 – (Q#4) I’m consumed by envy. I can hardly stand to read, watch, or listen to anyone more successful than myself. How am I aiming wrong?
05	0:54:38 – (Q#5) How would you advise a person who has the courage to defy the crowd but doesn’t have the verbal skills to debate in real time?
06	1:00:01 – (Q#6) The Tao Te Ching speaks of acting naturally. How is one to change and better their condition without unnaturally manipulating their world?
07	1:09:34 – (Q#7) I agree we don’t live in a tyrannical patriarchy. Can you provide a better explanation for the iniquities women faced, especially the delay in voting rights?
08	1:16:45 – (Q#8) You have talked about earning your knowledge. How do you define this? When is it okay to debate ideas like yours if they are not your own?
09	1:22:45– (Q#9) Have you ever considered having a debate with Slavoj Zizek? *
10	1:23:59– (Q#10) How do you maintain a stable identity when you are plagued by bouts of depression and anxiety?
11	1:32:51– (Q#11) How are you always so consistently composed and confident?
12	1:39:22 – (Q#12) How do you manage to read so much?
13	1:44:35 – (Q#13) There are many drug-addicted and homeless people in my city, and it keeps getting worse. How do you help people who don’t want to be helped?
14	1:47:43 – (Q#14) How do I stop ruminating? These thoughts are recurring and relate to any and every embarrassing moment I’ve had (I’m a 76-year-old woman)
15	1:50:16 – (Q#15) What’s the best method to retain what you read and be able to use it in conversation?
16	1:52:54 – (Q#16) I just found out that’s I’m having a girl. How can I raise her to think for herself and not fall into the modes of thinking proposed by popular culture?

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12# Patreon Q&A [October 2018]

 

01	0:06:59 – (Q#1) Any advice for young a young counselor soon to finish his degree? What do you wish you knew as a therapist?
02	0:14:48 – (Q#2) Procrastination and instant gratification rule me. Nothing seems to motivate me. What do I do?
03	0:23:18 – (Q#3) What do you think the feminine hero journey is? Do females have their own archetypal story?
04	0:27:33 – (Q#4) You caught some Twitter flak for your comment on Brett Kavanaugh. Care to address your comment and the blow back?
05	0:38:58 – (Q#5) I took your Understand Myself personality test. Should I take the results as they are and live trying to cope with them, or can I try to change them to some degree?
06	0:46:38 – (Q#6) My daughter’s school is now teaching gender as a social construct. What do we do? Leaving is not an option.
07	0:54:09 – (Q#7) Would you consider adding a list of recommended movies to your site?
08	0:54:40 – (Q#8) Can the Understand Myself or other Big Five Tests be retaken after some time (1-2 years?)
09	0:58:01– (Q#9) Would you like doing a podcast with Elon Musk?
10	0:59:41– (Q#10) How do you fight a monster without becoming one yourself?
11	1:07:51– (Q#11) Canada has legalized marijuana. What are your thoughts?
12	1:12:05 – (Q#12) Do you have any advice on how to vet a potential marriage partner during the dating phase?
13	1:18:37 – (Q#13) You said you act as if God exists. Do you also act as if the devil exists?

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11# Patreon Q&A [September 2018]

 

01	0:09:52 – New book due Sept 2019 & Return of Biblical Lecture series Sept-Dec 2019
02	0:10:45 – Desire to do a lecture series detailing the “sacred icons of the radical left”: Marx, Foucault, Derrida, Betty Friedan, Judith Butle
03	0:11:18 – Poem by Karl Marx (Invocation of One in Despair) and some commentary
04	0:18:38 – (Q#1) Any advice on effectively implementing what I learn into my life? I resonate with 12 Rules so much while reading but struggle to remember it in my day to day life.
05	0:23:06 – Julian rescues his father from the belly of technological despair
06	0:24:23 – (Q#2) You mentioned analyzing one of your wife’s dreams that left you feeling hopeful that we’ll emerge from this chaos okay? Do you still feel this way?
07	0:29:51 – (Q#3) You said the narrow bandwidth of TV made us think we were stupider than we are; will internet censorship lead to the same problem once TV is supplanted?
08	0:35:27 – (Q#4) Much of your early work deals with alcoholism, what prompted your interest in that area and your apparent shift to issues clustered around personality?
09	0:49:23 – (Q#5) Are you aware of any critics of your work that are deep and credible? (someone who at minimum has read Maps of Meaning)
10	0:55:56 – (Q#6) Wesley Yang reported that you met with tech titans Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel, both of whom advocate for decentralized education; can you share anything about this?
11	1:00:35 – (Q#7) Have you spoken with Nasim Taleb following your brief Twitter exchange?
12	1:01:11 – Some comments on the Pangburn Sam Harris debates; first video to be released Sept 1st, 2018 on JBP’s channel
13	1:06:30 – (Q#8) How do you reconcile studies that show genetics superseding environment in life outcomes with your own experience conducting successful psychotherapy?
14	1:09:01– (Q#9) Please comment on Jung-Pauli’s Unus Mundus hypothesis. Does this correlate with quantum-theory solutions to the Hard Problem of Consciousness (Penrose, Hameroff, Orch-OR)

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10# Patreon Q&A [April 2018]

 

01	2:22 free will; Sam Harris’s opinions on free will
02	15:57 chaos vs. order
03	30:54 gay couples raising children
04	35:26 distinguishing reality from unconscious projection
05	40:58 how to combat foggy thinking while working/writing
06	46:54 how past experiences shape our free will (see q. 1)
07	47:42 proper role of a therapist
08	55:52 experiencing willful meaning in a fortuitous world
09	59:44 how to increase industriousness (23rd percentile) w/ 90th percentile orderliness
10	1:06:28 physical attractiveness as a determinant of success
11	1:09:29 psychological egoism, altruism, and re-conceptualizing “self-interest”
12	1:18:17 current thinking on Orthodox Christianity
13	1:21:32 opinion of Myers-Briggs personality test
14	1:22:55 how women who waited too long to have children can find meaning
15	1:28:06 telling the truth amidst totalitarianism
16	1:29:31 why to have confidence in one’s own speculative opinions
17	1:31:51 how to deal with a loved one’s suicide
18	1:37:55 what to do when confronted with implicit-bias training at work

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Biblical Series 11 (XI): Sodom and Gomorrah *Q&A*

01	1:52:22 So how does it feel to be a grandfather?
02	1:53:11 How does circumcision as a method of sacrifice makes sense if the circumcised can’t agree?
03	1:56:31 With the phrase from Maps of Meaning “you have to earn the right to identify with an idea”, how should a young person, without life experience, read and interact with the wisdom of culture and incorporate it into a structure that still is authentically their own?
04	2:00:13 How do you reconcile the different approaches from Eastern and Western philosophy with one another?
05	2:06:37 Can you expand on the Notion that you face the sins of your family all the time?
06	2:12:17 What is going on with censorship and what should people do about it?
07	2:16:46 How do you convince people to see a point in standing up?
08	2:21:21 What happens to society if company’s like google, which controls our information, censor not only themselves but also the information they make available to the world?
09	2:25:17 Regarding the Book of Revelations: Why is the State referred to as female, positive and negative, while you refer to the State as male or masculine?

Jordan Peterson Q and A Archive

Biblical Series 10 (X): Abraham: Father of Nations *Q&A*

01	1:51:20 […]
02	1:58:19 How to overcome procrastination?
03	2:01:44 About solving the University problem
04	2:09:15 Comment about orthodox Christianity
05	2:12:44 Psychoanalytic attempt on atheism
06	2:14:46 In context of a quote, on the question of the resurrection of Christ, why is your answer to your own question “I don’t know” instead of “probably not”?
07	2:21:03 Why did Christ says on the cross”my god, why have you forsaken me?” and about similarities between Isaac and Christ and difference of direction in sacrifice

Jordan Peterson Q and A Archive

9# Patreon Q&A [March 2018]

01	0:44 – “What should teaching and research in the humanities look like?”
02	3:08 – “Have you thought about slowing down? People are worried.”
03	5:05 – “Many who respect your work feel your tweets are expedient or impulsive. Would you consider changing the way you tweet?”
04	12:25 – “What of a client’s need for autonomy/identity in therapy? They would prefer that which is meaningful and therefore under their control. Is this not unhealthy?”
05	18:00 – “Any update on your plans to start independent classes or an online university?”
06	20:57: “I married young and have only had one sexual partner. Now I desire variety but value my marriage and will not cheat. Advice?”
07	24:27 – “Why do you not discuss religious fundamentalism more often and in depth? Many consider you a religious apologist as a consequence.”
08	30:05 – “Hello, Dr. Peterson. I’ve been trying to listen to my conscience, but I can’t tell the difference between fear, willful blindness, or genuine conscience.”
09	37:55 – “I’ve watched many hours of your videos, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard you describe yourself on the big 5 model. Care to tell us how you rank on each trait?”
10	40:48 – “My wife and I found out earlier in the year we might not be able to have children. Then, last month I was diagnosed with cancer. How do I combat depression?”
11	49:09 – “Please give your perspective on why polyamory is bad for the individual and society”
12	54:37 – “How do you think altered states of consciousness or shamanic experiences can or should be integrated into modern life and scientific thought?”
13	57:44 – “I don’t even have the conscientiousness to sit down and do self authoring. I bought it over a year ago and haven’t even opened it. What the hell is wrong with me?”
14	1:03:35 – “My wife says I’m like you (obsessed with ideas) and seldom want to talk about much else. She wants me to ask if you wife is ever annoyed by it.”
15	1:05:37 – “Hi, Dr. Peterson. I’m a member of the translators who translate your videos into Chinese. How can I speak the truth and survive in China and protect my family?”
16	1:08:52 – “My brother committed suicide and I’m taking care of my sister’s kids, ages 7 and 3, until she’s stable. How can I help them cope with the loss of their uncle?”
17	1:12:09 – “I’m a minority. My kids are mixed. I resent the disempowering narrative of victim-hood being handed to them. It’s lazy and offensive. How to arm them against it?”
18	1:15:29 – “Sam Harris has accused you of sophistry in your bible lectures. How do you draw the line between sophistry and a valid reading?”
19	1:21:27 – “How is it that society has not learned from history about the dangers of socialism, Marxism, ideology, etc. after years? How do they get away with it?”
20	1:27:11 – “I am 46, retired executive, wealthy, competent, and full of juice. Who can I talk to if I want to invest time/money/energy into your university?”
21	1:30:00 – “I am a sober alcoholic/drug addict. How can I find my way back to a higher power after ten years in an empty void of atheism? I’m falling apart.”

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8# Patreon Q&A [January 2018]

01	0:01:29 How can we know the difference between “unhealthy repression” and “healthy self-restraint” of sexuality?
02	0:06:31 Why are dragons in western culture bringers of death and destruction that must be slain, while in the East, they’re portents of good fortune to be revered?
03	0:09:53 You often mention disciplining children so they behave; what is your advice for making them behave without resorting to corporal punishment?
04	0:19:35 Can we take the biblical stories seriously enough without also keeping biblical traditions? What’s the psychological impact of groups gathering (church going)?
05	0:21:50 I was wondering what your thoughts are on meditation and if you practice it yourself? If not, why?
06	0:26:58 How do I deal with the fact that I am a pedophile? And should I tell my family and friends?
07	0:28:59 I was wondering what you thought of Santa Claus. Is it a healthy thing for parents to practice? What’s the psychological impact of lying to your child?
08	0:30:22 You once mentioned you were planning on making an IQ test available online alongside the Big Five Aspects Scale one. Is that in the works?
09	0:34:33 You often give guidance to young adults to help them avoid some of the pitfalls of life. Any advice for those of us who are 40+ who have already faltered?
10	0:39:37 I don’t think my wife loves our internationally adopted daughter and she won’t go to counseling with me. My house is filled with tyranny and anger. Any advice?
11	0:42:10 You have talked about the difference between intelligence and wisdom, saying intelligence isn’t a shortcut to wisdom. What is your definition of wisdom?
12	0:44:47 Why is self-sabotage such a feature in human life?
13	0:48:16 Any advice for a grieving parent who lost a child unexpectedly?
14	0:49:46 Are there ever situations where you should hold your tongue and not speak what you believe (fear of being fired, etc.)?
15	0:52:44 Jung suggested that the Christian myth failed to articulate Christ’s descent into hell and that this resulted in the mass shadow projection of The West. Thoughts?
16	0:58:10 How should one deal with recurring self-pity and why is it so gripping?
17	1:01:22 How do you boost your confidence talking to people and get rid of the paranoia that people hate you or don’t like you and think you’re trash? That’s how I feel.
18	1:04:49 What are your thoughts on Sophia’s citizenship status?
19	1:05:43 Do you ever fear that your psychological reading of the Bible is wrong?
20	1:07:02 How do I tell my half-brothers (aged 14 and 17that their father didn’t leave 3 years ago, but that we kicked him out because he is a pedophile who targeted my sister. The eldest is autistic; I’m tired of lying.
21	1:07:59 I’m a British conservative millennial training to be a school teacher. How can I protect children (aged 5-11) from postmodernism which is everywhere in school?
22	1:09:13 If the right to identify with certain arguments has to be earned, how does one earn it? How do we truthfully discuss ideas for which we have not earned it?
23	1:12:48 I’m a female student in STEM and I feel bombarded by all the feminist groups trying to infantilize me. How do I prevent them from turning me into an adult child?
24	1:14:27 What books ought we read to our young children?
25	1:15:49 How can you be a good partner to someone suffering from depression; helping without enabling, and pushing without being too judgemental?
26	1:18:55 You said you don’t go to church because the pastors are “lying” most of the time. What do you mean by “lying” in this instance?
27	1:19:54 My first ever girlfriend of 3 months is pregnant and keeping the baby. She said I can walk away or marry her, no in-between. I don’t love her… what do I do?
28	1:22:35 We are expecting our first child in May, a daughter. Any advice specific to raising daughters?
29	1:23:56 We’re there any lecturers/lecture series that you found helpful to you (like yours have been to so many?)
30	1:25:47 Could you please tell us your second ghost story as mentioned on H3H3 podcast?
31	1:26:19 Have you read much Thomas Sowell? In many ways he fulfilled your societal role for the last generation but from a different academic perspective. Thoughts?
32	1:27:57 If you could talk to Donald Trump for a day what would you try to say/ convince him about?
33	1:29:26 How would you give a speech to Soldiers entering the Army about responsibility? I will command a basic training unit and address young Soldiers. Advice?

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Jordan Peterson Q and A Archive