4 ms·

Jordan Peterson became famous after a student tried to debate him about his "Nazi followers" and gender pronouns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3mSamRbYA h

Jordan Peterson became famous after a student tried to debate him about his "Nazi followers" and gender pronouns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3mSamRbYA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP3mSamRbYA Many people see him as an enemy because of his conservative viewpoints. His most recent debate with Cathy Newman from three days ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcjxSThD54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcjxSThD54

js8 9y ago
> his most recent debate with Cathy Newman from three days ago God, that was a terrible interview. The interviewer refused to understand a single thing that JP was saying. I am no fan of Peterson (in particular, I am left liberal), but he makes quite a lot of good points.
- api 9y ago
  I'm fairly socially liberal too and on the fence about him. He says a lot of interesting things and I've never been a fan of postmodernism which I regard as a form of "pseudo-profound bullshit," but I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. Of course the same might have been said at one time about Nietzsche and Jung. Some Nazis loved Nietzche but it was not all that mutual.
  - Chaebixi 9y ago
    > but I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. > Of course the same might have been said at one time about Nietzsche and Jung. Some Nazis loved Nietzche but it was not all that mutual. Seems like he has no love for the alt-right: > But when [Peterson has] been lumped in with what’s come to be called the alt-right, as happens fairly regularly, Peterson has pushed back, calling it "seriously wrong." The erstwhile socialist considers himself a classic British liberal, and he has castigated the far right for engaging in the "pathology of racial pride."
  - jnbiche 9y ago
    > I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. Well, given that Peterson has repeatedly pissed them off by saying that ethnic nationalism is an idiotic ideology (I'm paraphrasing), I'm not sure how many of those followers he now has left. He definitely has a very vocal cult-like following among a certain type of young adult. While they can be annoying, they're not typically the fascist/racist type. Far from it.
  - weberc2 9y ago
    > I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. I forget if it was this article or the interview (the two of which constitute my entire familiarity with the man, so I'm not strongly for or against him), but he makes the point that he has had many letters from left and right extremists who have reported that Peterson's teachings have moved them to the center. So my inner optimist would like to believe that his far right (and left) fans are in flux, mwaning it's socially ideal for these people to be in the ranks of his "followers". Although the notion of a philosopher with followers does sort of creep me out, rightly or wrongly.
- ravenstine 9y ago
  That's the thing... I'm not conservative by any stretch of the imagination, though I am often mistaken for one; I enjoy listening to people like Jordan Peterson and even Ben Shapiro because they are excellent debaters and can make solid arguments. I can't think of anyone on the other side of the political spectrum who can even come close in that regard, although I would love for someone to give me some examples.
  - js8 9y ago
    What about Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens, Yanis Varoufakis? They are all excellent debaters on the left. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYlXb6kBA0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYlXb6kBA0 It's interesting to note that Chomsky was at a point also targeted by the postmodern "left", when he defended free speech.
    - ndr 9y ago
      For the record, Hitchens died in 2011.
- rocmcd 9y ago
  It really was. It was two people on entirely different planes of conversation talking right past each other. One thing I think Peterson could do better (though I imagine he wouldn't do this purely on principle, if he was even capable) is adapting his speech and rhetoric to meet his target audience. He was answering her questions in a calm and well-meaning manner, but just the tone and vocabulary of his explanations was going completely over her head, making her draw the wrong conclusions from what he was saying. That is, assuming that she wasn't trying to be combative on purpose.
  - HardDaysKnight 9y ago
    I've watched the interview a couple of times. I did not see that his tone or vocabulary were over her head. However, I would like to know what you're referring to. Could you give one or two examples please?

js8 9y ago

> his most recent debate with Cathy Newman from three days ago God, that was a terrible interview. The interviewer refused to understand a single thing that JP was saying. I am no fan of Peterson (in particular, I am left liberal), but he makes quite a lot of good points.

api 9y ago
I'm fairly socially liberal too and on the fence about him. He says a lot of interesting things and I've never been a fan of postmodernism which I regard as a form of "pseudo-profound bullshit," but I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. Of course the same might have been said at one time about Nietzsche and Jung. Some Nazis loved Nietzche but it was not all that mutual.
- Chaebixi 9y ago
  > but I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. > Of course the same might have been said at one time about Nietzsche and Jung. Some Nazis loved Nietzche but it was not all that mutual. Seems like he has no love for the alt-right: > But when [Peterson has] been lumped in with what’s come to be called the alt-right, as happens fairly regularly, Peterson has pushed back, calling it "seriously wrong." The erstwhile socialist considers himself a classic British liberal, and he has castigated the far right for engaging in the "pathology of racial pride."
- jnbiche 9y ago
  > I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. Well, given that Peterson has repeatedly pissed them off by saying that ethnic nationalism is an idiotic ideology (I'm paraphrasing), I'm not sure how many of those followers he now has left. He definitely has a very vocal cult-like following among a certain type of young adult. While they can be annoying, they're not typically the fascist/racist type. Far from it.
- weberc2 9y ago
  > I keep getting hung up by the fact that a whole lot of Peterson's followers are fascists and racists. I forget if it was this article or the interview (the two of which constitute my entire familiarity with the man, so I'm not strongly for or against him), but he makes the point that he has had many letters from left and right extremists who have reported that Peterson's teachings have moved them to the center. So my inner optimist would like to believe that his far right (and left) fans are in flux, mwaning it's socially ideal for these people to be in the ranks of his "followers". Although the notion of a philosopher with followers does sort of creep me out, rightly or wrongly.
ravenstine 9y ago
That's the thing... I'm not conservative by any stretch of the imagination, though I am often mistaken for one; I enjoy listening to people like Jordan Peterson and even Ben Shapiro because they are excellent debaters and can make solid arguments. I can't think of anyone on the other side of the political spectrum who can even come close in that regard, although I would love for someone to give me some examples.
- js8 9y ago
  What about Noam Chomsky, Christopher Hitchens, Yanis Varoufakis? They are all excellent debaters on the left. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYlXb6kBA0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYlXb6kBA0 It's interesting to note that Chomsky was at a point also targeted by the postmodern "left", when he defended free speech.
  - ndr 9y ago
    For the record, Hitchens died in 2011.
rocmcd 9y ago
It really was. It was two people on entirely different planes of conversation talking right past each other. One thing I think Peterson could do better (though I imagine he wouldn't do this purely on principle, if he was even capable) is adapting his speech and rhetoric to meet his target audience. He was answering her questions in a calm and well-meaning manner, but just the tone and vocabulary of his explanations was going completely over her head, making her draw the wrong conclusions from what he was saying. That is, assuming that she wasn't trying to be combative on purpose.
- HardDaysKnight 9y ago
  I've watched the interview a couple of times. I did not see that his tone or vocabulary were over her head. However, I would like to know what you're referring to. Could you give one or two examples please?