Originally posted by RobA_Oz I imagine there’s a fair correlation between people who read widely and people who think rationally, and I reckon that’s always been a minority. I’m not sure what the boundaries of “free thinking” are, but irrationality tends to go with thinking in the absence of any rigorous analysis and depth of experience.
I read Jordan Petersen’s “12 Rules”, but it didn’t strike me as particularly original, for all its value as a tutorial for young people, young men in particular.
Originally posted by Lotos Eaters It might not be original, though I don't know what book written at this time would be, but it did strike a chord with me. Of course, I'm young....not a male but still young so I guess I fit the target audience. Being surrounded by a 'we must all think alike' mentality is nothing new, I'm sure, but I can only exist in and react to my own time and my own world. I enjoy reading anyone who expresses their own ideas well, without fear of upsetting the popular opinion. I'm still branching out with my own education and so far Thomas Paine has been my favorite because he seemed to be so right across every page but Ive found alot to think about in Orwell and Peterson and even Chomsky and others. I just keep reading and reading and try to think as deeply as I can about each topic.
Peterson's pretty forthcoming about his influences - Fyodor Dostoevsky, Carl Jung, Friedrich Nietzsche, George Orwell, Jean Piaget, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, etc. Of those I'm at least partially familiar with, I definitely recognise some of their ideas in his written and spoken material. Whatever building blocks he's incorporated, though, he's developed his understanding and beliefs with both exhaustive research and extensive clinical practice.
What I particularly like and respect is that he seems not just willing but
eager to continually modify his understanding through the input and argument of other modern thinkers at all levels; that, plus - of course - his frankness and courage in voicing uncomfortable and sometimes contentious views at a time when so-called "cancel culture" discourages divergence from the popular narrative (though he might benefit from a tad more diplomacy on occasion
).
I'll say again, I don't agree with him on a number of matters... but I believe he's setting a great example (especially for younger folks) and I think there's value in his writing, if only to make the reader consider and challenge his or her own ideas.