Why You’re Dead Wrong About Jordan Peterson

And the opportunity cost of rejecting his “rules.”

Alec Zaffiro
6 min readSep 15, 2023
Jordan Peterson Controversy
creative commons via Gage Skidmore

You probably think about Jordan Peterson in 1 of 2 ways:

  1. You admire him for his ability to think and speak. His words give insight to your moral conundrums. To you, his ideas hold significant psychological weight.
  2. You despise him politically. You feel smothered by his conservative ideals. Peterson’s group identity embodies oppression, challenging not only your identity but your entire belief system.

As someone who falls in the former, I feel sorry for the latter.

I really do. I don’t mean to be condescending about this.

Not only are critics (falsely) denouncing Peterson, but they’re missing the value of his work in the process. This begs several questions:

  • What’s the value of Jordan Peterson’s work?
  • Are the claims against him valid?
  • Why is it so hard for certain people to understand him?
  • How might we bridge the gap between supporters and critics?

The Value of Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules”

When I was a senior in college, I was a complete and total wreck.

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Alec Zaffiro

I write to think and organize my ideas. I like psychology, philosophy, and self-improvement—em dashes are my specialty. Not an expert.*