"12 Rules for Life" by Jordan B. Peterson. A Review.

 

With tens of thousands of reviews, and over 100,000 ratings for this book on Amazon and Goodreads, I’ll leave the more detailed analysis to others. Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, a clinical psychologist, and bestselling author, published “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos” in 2018, which has sold over 5 Million copies to date. This 409-page hardback is overflowing with perceptive guidance on various life issues. It springs from a set of presuppositions that include evolutionary psychology, some form of classical liberalism that embraces civil liberties, secularism, anti-fascism, anti-Marxism, and suffering. His suppositions also include a more positive view of tradition and myths from multiple cultures, and is friendly toward the Jewish-Christian perspective, using Hebrew and Christian Scriptures as a wellhouse of ancient wisdom. Well written, personable, and learned, this material is written for most anyone from any walk of life.

 

Though there is much to commend this work, I noticed at least two items that gave me some pause. First, I picked up a subtle sense of Gnostic leanings in the work. Nothing hugely obvious, but Peterson’s use of the yin-and-yang, the Tao, chaos-and-order, favorable utilization of Carl Jung, the potential distinction between the Old Testament God and the New Testament God, and so forth, attracted my interest. With his “you have a spark of the divine in you” (60) to quoting the Gospel of Thomas, and other tidbits. But his consistent emphasis on the realness of human suffering, keeps him from falling in headfirst. The other item has to do with his use of Hebrew and Christian Scripture. He is truly friendly toward them, just as he is with the Epic of Gilgamesh and other ancient writings. He sees them as important tales handing on deep wisdom from bygone eras of human progress.

 

The volume is packed full of intelligent and well-thought-out insights set up as more than a self-help book. It’s actually a work bordering on social clinical therapy, if there is such a thing. Peterson addresses parenting, men and women, anti-human outlooks, pride, totalitarian thinking, blame-shifting, speech, self-perception, communal and social wellbeing, and the list goes on. He also dives into philosophy regularly, specifically tackling being, suffering, the human proclivity toward evil and what motivates us toward evil, epistemology, and more. It’s a full book written by no fool! A reader will walk away with an education and a head full of perceptions to ponder for months on end.

 

I think Dr. Norman Doidge, MD, who composed the forward, is correct. Peterson has hit on valuable rules, and “the foremost rule is that you must take responsibility for your own life. Period” (xxiii). That’s the clear message of the book from twelve angles. Young adults need to take this book in hand, as well as seasoned citizens. As a Christian pastor, I’m convinced my fellow ministers should pour over its pages with a clear head and keen eye. Peterson’s work will linger in my thoughts for a long time. I highly recommend the work.