MarcusAu wrote: ↑
CaptainFluffyBunny wrote: ↑
...
And while Peterson may not be everybody's personal savior, he's turning a lot of people away from a dangerous path into nihilism and worse.
It's difficult to say. There are those on the Alt-Right (for example Mike Enoch) who would see the 'Red Pilling' of people to the the facts of gender and racial differences as the first step of moving them into the 'correct' political space. As Peterson has specifically spoken out agains the Alt-Right - it's probably more fair to judge him by his own words - and not the actions of those that are (or were at one point) attracted to him.
Interesting phenomenon, and it certainly seems he's broached some important topics.
But speaking of "his own words", a quote of him from a
C2C Journal article I mentioned earlier:
Peterson won’t say if he believes in God, but says he believes in acting “as if God exists” if one wants to do good in the world. Transcendance of the egocentric self and humility before a higher power, he teaches, is all that prevents man from the corruption that attends human power, when human beings no longer see themselves as part of a chain of being, which stretches far beyond them.
Which makes quite a bit of sense - one can "believe in acting as if our electrons [say] exist in the form our models describe"; there's apparently some degree of correspondence - based on predictions that are more or less accurate. Model doesn't have to be perfect to be useful:
It is the mark of an instructed mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness when only an approximation of the truth is possible.
Aristotle
<snip>
MarcusAu wrote: ↑People are probably going to have to decide for themselves whether there is any value to any further 'Atheism vs Religion' debates (From his actions it's pretty clear where Peterson stands on this) - or indeed if there is any point for Atheist Activism (at a grass roots or organisational level) at this point.
Think it a bit unfortunate that such debates devolve - or degenerate - into an either-or donny-brook; frequently lots of heat but little light. Seems we'd be further ahead to try recognizing the strengths & weaknesses in each perspective, in each "narrative".
Apropos of, just ran across the source of the quote that I think you used to use as your signature,
Arthur Balfour:
Nothing matters very much, and few things matter at all.
Kind of surprised as that seems kind of foreign to the rest of his accomplishments, but it's hard not to see that attitude leading to the degeneration of whatever civilization we've managed to create. For all its flaws, I think it's a damned sight better than "nasty, brutish, and short"; think we all kind of have an obligation to maintain and promote it. Somewhat analogous to
Francis Bacon's, "I hold every man a debtor to his profession." Indeed - and culture and civilization.
