"I believe that we are ultra social creatures, we evolved in groups. In a sense, we broke out of the hive in the 19th century to 20th century. With prosperity, we could live alone, and we have individualism."

Watch more of this podcast with Dr. Haidt and Dr. Pinker here: https://youtu.be/4tAQM5uU8uk

Is Meaning Found In Responsibility?

On my latest podcast released on Monday, Steven Pinker, Jonathan Haidt, and I sat down to discuss truth, how societies function, utopias, the role of religion, and more.

Watch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/4tAQM5uU8uk

On today's podcast episode, Dr. Clay Routledge joins me.

Dr. Routledge is an existential psychologist, writer, and professor at North Dakota State University. He's also a senior research fellow at the Archbridge Institute and an editor for Profectus magazine. Dr. Routledge studies basic psychological needs and how they're shaped by family, social bonds, economics, and broader cultural worldviews.

Our conversation covered loneliness, meaning, nostalgia, Terror Management Theory, and existential psychology. We also shared views on human progress, responsibility, religion, and UFOs.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yV0b-NhKTY

Have some humility. Clean up your bedroom. Take care of your family. Follow your conscience. Straighten up your life.

Find something productive and interesting to do and commit to it. When you can do all that, find a bigger problem and try to solve that if you dare. If that works, too, move on to even more ambitious projects.

And, as the necessary beginning to that process… abandon ideology.

Beyond Order | Rule VI (Abandon Ideology) | Page 178.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/BeyondOrderUSA

So, what is the conclusion?

There are many things to which we might commit ourselves. A case can be made for the arbitrary and even meaningless nature of any given commitment, given the plethora of alternatives, given the corruption of the systems demanding that commitment.

But the same case cannot be made for the fact of commitment itself:

Those who do not choose a direction are lost.

This is despite all the genuine limitations and disappointments that becoming something entails.

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Click here: https://linktr.ee/DrJordanBPeterson

People think that the purpose of memory is to remember the past. That's not the purpose of memory.

The purpose of memory is to extract out, from the past, lessons to structure the future. And that's the purpose of personal memory. So, you're done with a memory when you've extracted the information that you can use to guide yourself properly in the future.

If you have a traumatic memory, for example, that's obsessing you, if you analyse that memory to the point where you figured out how you put yourself at risk, you can determine how you might avoid that in the future.

Then the emotion associated with that goes away.

Red skull meets Spiderman. Where else? NYC!

New clip available on YouTube | How To Stop Procrastinating:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nL1rEk8wjo

Mustafa Akyol joins me to discuss Muslim history and tradition.

We touch on subjects like Jesus Christ from a Christian and Muslim perspective, the Virgin Mary's role in the Quran, separation of church and state as an ideology, the dangers of literalism when facing religious texts, and much more.

Click here to watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9b8kprIQ-yo

It means deciding to voluntarily transform the chaos of potential into the realities of habitable order.

It means adopting the burden of self-conscious vulnerability and accepting the end of the unconscious paradise of childhood, where finitude and mortality are only dimly comprehended.

It means willingly undertaking the sacrifices necessary to generate a productive and meaningful reality.

What’s the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful?

The successful sacrifice. Things get better as the successful practise their sacrifices. The questions become increasingly precise and, simultaneously, broader: What is the greatest possible sacrifice? For the greatest possible good?

And the answers become increasingly deeper and profound.

It is not anger at misbehavior. It is not revenge for a misdeed.

It is instead a careful combination of mercy and long-term judgment.

Of course, it’s easier in the moment to stay silent and avoid conflict. But in the long term, that’s deadly.

Each week my newsletter "Mondays of Meaning" includes a concise piece of writing exploring one specific topic, quotes you can share, updates about the podcast, and new video content.

Join over 170,000 people who are already subscribed here: https://linktr.ee/DrJordanBPeterson

Bishop Barron, John Vervaeke, Jonathan Pageau, and I have a round table to explore ideas and theories of Meaning. All three guests have been on the podcast before, and all share a passion for the universal truths of human experience.

This deep discussion explores the roots of Meaning and religious significance.

Watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvQsqSCWjA

My Discovering Personality Course is a tool kit for operating in the world, in intimate relationships, and in your business relationships.

Over 44,300 students have now enrolled. We’ve requested rigorous feedback from everyone who takes the course - such as Aaron.

The comments so far have been overwhelmingly positive.

If you're looking to use this Black Friday week productively, the course is now on sale at a 53% discount. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/Discovery-Personality-Testimonial

Bishop Barron, John Vervaeke, Jonathan Pageau, and I have a round table to explore ideas and theories of Meaning. All three guests have been on the podcast before, and all share a passion for the universal truths of human experience.

This deep discussion explores the roots of Meaning and religious significance.

Watch it on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCvQsqSCWjA

With Bugzy Malone yesterday (Aaron Davis). We had a great time.

“The answer seems quite clear that that is exactly what’s wanted. That’s what’s held forth because there’s this implicit assumption, in all of this critique, that in my very active aid, I’m doing something immoral, immoral enough to be parodied, let’s say, as Red Skull.”

From my talk with Ben Shapiro earlier in the year.Available here: https://youtu.be/_wdWkTHubg4

You know yourself better than anyone else does. You know your flaws better than anyone else. You might dislike someone for one thing you know they did, whereas with yourself, you know everything you’ve done.

It’s a real existential question: Why the hell should you take care of something as sorry and wretched as you are?

The proper attitude to have towards yourself is the attitude that you would have towards someone that you genuinely cared for. And that it's incumbent upon you to act as if you genuinely care for yourself.

Understanding your personality is an important step to taking care of yourself.

My Discovering Personality course was designed with this in mind.

It is intended to be used as a toolkit for operating in the world, in your intimate relationships and in your business relationships.

For those looking to use Black Friday week productively, the course is reduced 53% to $69, for a limited time only.

Purchase the course here: https://bit.ly/b-Discovering-Personality

I am pleased to announce that after almost two years I’m embarking on a new tour, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life. The tour opens Jan 26th at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, TX and continues through 40 US cities, including Miami, New York, Chicago, San Francisco and LA.

Presale code: JORDAN

For more information and for tickets, head to: https://jordanbpeterson.com/events/

My daughter Mikhaila Peterson will be opening for me.