Jordan Peterson Is a Postmodernist

Allow me to explain what I mean by ‘Is’

Psychology — Satire — Society

Postmodernism is essentially the claim that (1) since there are an innumerable number of ways in which the world can be interpreted and perceived (and those are tightly associated), then (2) no canonical manner of interpretation can be reliably derived. — Jordan Peterson on Postmodernism

The good doctor goes on to say that this is a bad thing. He tells us that, on many occasions, the left has hijacked language and our institutions, unable to define vocabulary and thus, the very essence of life.

For example: What is a woman?

For me, a dumb left-leaning man, the answer is simple: Boobies. But aside from that, I understand that a woman can be someone assigned female at birth who lives as a woman — or someone assigned male at birth who transitions and lives as a woman. In that case, yes, she may still be biologically male, but socially, personally, and often legally, she is a woman. Not a man.

I’m a simple dude, and I think I get it — or at the very least, I’m working my way toward understanding it better. And no, it doesn’t hurt my brain.

Alas, Dr. Jordan Peterson has made a career out of telling lefty postmodernists that they are confusing the world by not being able to clearly clarify gender and other very nuanced topics.

Define ‘belief’ — Jordan Peterson, when asked if he believes in God on Jubilee’s One Christian vs. 20 Atheists (later changed to Jordan Peterson vs. 20 Atheists), because Jordan Peterson can’t even define himself.

Do you understand my title now?

The sheer audacity of the man — to have it out with the left for thinking humanely about non-gender-conforming people — when he can’t even tell us if he believes in God, a deity he invokes in his teachings, or what the word belief means concerning God, Jesus, and the gang.

And here’s where the irony collapses into farce: in Jubilee’s 20 Atheists vs. 1 Christian, Peterson is asked the simplest question imaginable — Do you believe in God? — and he answers with a rhetorical hostage situation: “Define belief.” Over and over again. Define. Define. Define.

He dances in circles, refusing to commit to a basic yes or no, as if the fate of Western civilization hinges on how we interpret belief in the metaphysical versus epistemological* sense. He could easily say, “Yes, but I have information I need to add to give context to myself,” which would be acceptable and understandable. But he doesn’t.

* Relating to the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion. — That definition is for me as much as it may be for you.

And here’s the thing: this is exactly what he accuses postmodernists of doing — twisting language, deferring meaning, making communication impossible.

But when it’s his turn on the couch, he suddenly becomes a fucking Transformer — “I’m a Christian? Well, that’s what you think,” he says. “Belief? Please define. I am belief-fluid.”
Alright, the last quote I made up, but you see my point.

Peterson calls out postmodern relativism while refusing to affirm a single, stable belief of his own. Is that not the most postmodern move of all? According to him, it is.

And then we come to lies. Yes, lies. Very simple. The simplest of gray areas. Lying, for all intents and purposes, is not good — yet it is not inherently evil. I will give you a softball example:

Wife: “Epic manly husband who satisfies me nightly, do you like my new haircut?”
Me (the husband): “Yes.”

Do you not see how plain and simple that is?

Now, the good doctor was given an even softer baller of questions by the young atheist on Jubilee. Here they are:
“Would you lie to save Jews from the Nazis? Would you lie to save your family?”

Simple, yes?

For me, I would say, “I would hope, in that position, I would have the bravery to help a Jewish family. And as for my family — yes, I would lie, because I am not a psycho who values being right above others’ safety.”

However, Dr. Peterson said, regarding the Jewish hypothetical: “I would make damn sure I was never in that position.” And regarding his family’s welfare: “I don’t believe lying would save them.”

I mean — Jesus fucking Christ — this man is wealthy and famous while I reheat old Nescafé in my office/laundry.

But more importantly than my bitterness, he actually has people who still follow and listen to his ramblings, despite the fact that he is clearly lost.

What do I mean by lost?

Well, he doesn’t understand what it is to be a human at the fundamental level. Humanity and civilization are built upon trust, shared understanding of right and wrong, and compromise.

• Peterson cannot be trusted, as he would make you define trust for days.

• Peterson does not seem to understand the gray area between right and wrong that comes naturally to most thinking chimps like the rest of us.
  “Define murder.”Fuck off.

• Peterson cannot compromise, as he must be right. And getting into a social agreement with a person like that is dangerous.

Peterson made a career out of criticizing the postmodern leftist types for thinking thoughtfully and carefully about nuanced issues that have a real-world impact on people — and yes, one to two percent of the population still counts as people — and accused them of muddying the waters on language for the purpose of control.

I am sorry, but the only person I see muddying the waters and unable to define already well-defined words is the good doctor.

Someone needs to tell him that perhaps he is a postmodernist — albeit not a very clever one.

In conclusion
Well, that depends on your interpretation of ‘conclusion’, as I am sure there will be more of this ridiculous gaslighting in the future from the good doctor, as the possibilities are endless for the undefined man.

I have to go now and clean my room — but first, I must spend the morning defining what is meant by the word clean, and if the good doctor will ever clean up his concepts.

NOTE: Believe it or not, I did not draw the image for this piece. But I did write the prompts, so I guess that’s something…