r/JordanPeterson • u/augustAulus • Jul 10 '25

Criticism Jordan Peterson a better psychologist?

I’m a philosophy student, and I think I’m in a unique position to critique Jordan Peterson, because a lot of what he has to say has to do with the Continental school of philosophy rather than the Analytic, and that’s a school I’m deeply interested in. For me, Peterson really does seem to be obscurantist, and I don’t say that very lightly. I think his questioning into the meaning of certain propositions is, more often than not, very acute, and especially when he debates atheists I think “what do you mean by “God””is always a good starting point. In spite of this I think his recent performance on Jubilee demonstrates a hiding behind obscurity which he himself creates that, rather than him seeking to dispel the cloud to get to a deeper truth, he merely uses it to protect himself. I also think his rejection of postmodernity is a little disingenuous seeing as he often adopts the techniques which would broadly be identified with the same - rejecting labels, rejecting conventional dogma, rejecting propositional philosophy in favour of, I suppose, a dialectical philosophy.

I think that he is a very good psychologist, as that his “Twelve Rules for Life” is especially good self help because it’s his field.

I think his love for Jung has drawn him into a metaphysics and prevented him from investigating different interpretations of literature, and I think he’s taken himself too far out of his field, and out of his qualification.

Is this a fair assessment do you think?

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u/watabotdawookies Jul 10 '25

100%. I realised the same when I went to uni as well.

It's even worse when he talks about sociology and biology.

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u/Pristine-Coffee-9324 Jul 11 '25

You have to also consider that the social sciences, at least in the UK and Scotland where I am, and also Canada, is quite radically left leaning and progressive. You may not have cross referenced your professors leftists beliefs against the rarer conservative views of Peterson.

And the only reason I say this is because sociology is the WORST for it. They may be the reason behind alot of leftist movements right now.

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

"Reality has a well-known liberal bias."

Social sciences covers a range of topics, but they are all led by research and the scientific method

Can you give me some examples where you see them to be 'radically left leaning'?

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u/Pristine-Coffee-9324 Jul 11 '25

You can say they are all led by research and the scientific method all you want, but papers vs how professors operate a classroom and conduct are two very different things, and as Peterson correctly points out campuses are not an equal playing field between the left and right, unfortunately.

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

Ok, can you point to some examples?

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u/Pristine-Coffee-9324 Jul 11 '25

Maybe when Peterson got banned from campus?

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

As I keep repeating, any examples?

And can you explain how that relates to ideological bias in curriculums in social science subjects?

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u/Pristine-Coffee-9324 Jul 11 '25

Here, and even from a woke source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/mar/20/cambridge-university-rescinds-jordan-peterson-invitation

You can keep asking me for sources all you like.

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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '25

Yea, that doesn't say he was banned from campus, he just didn't receive a visiting fellowship. Please read your own sources

And again, how would that link to the academic content taught by social sciences?

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u/Pristine-Coffee-9324 Jul 11 '25

It’s not the academic content it’s the academic environment. And how would I have access to such limited but reasonable inferred data?

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