Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
Thought Crimes Jordan Peterson and the Meaning of the Meaning of Life
by Stephen Beckner
Skeptic Magazine v23no3
Crisis of Meaning
is the new
Existential Angst
Post 58. November 20, 2018
Another Crisis of Meaning
21st Century Existential Angst
In a continuation of Skeptic magazine's investigation of the "Jordan Peterson Phenomenon", Stephen Beckner discusses why Peterson's post-
Personally, I was more impressed with Beckner's literary analysis of the current Crisis of Meaning than with any particular Rules for Living proposed for the "New Sincerity Movement". Below, I have given my own rambling thoughts in response to quotes from the article.
1. “. . . myths-
The presumption of access to transcendent wisdom is the key to the power of scripture and magic. Myths do indeed encapsulate human concerns and recurring themes in poetic language, but their wisdom remains mundane & subjective instead of transcendent & objective. Mythical archetypes were prescientific attempts to simplify the complexity of reality. The scientific updates are too nuanced (rational, technical & conditional) for the layman’s simplistic intuition. Popular Fiction tends to boil complex situations down to symbolic black hats versus white hats.
2. “wedded to this new notion of mysticism as a form of occult technology was the theme of embarking on a quest and returning with the gift of knowledge.”
The Gnostic claim of access to supernatural knowledge is common throughout the history of priestly & shamanistic mysticism3. But their myths and magic tend to distract with smoke & mirrors from the real truth of what's going on. The wisps of wisdom offered are usually simplistic platitudes twisted to sound novel to the young or uninformed. The technology of magic is psychological manipulations of simple minds.
3. “ this generation's crisis of meaning . . . may be meaning itself.”
Each generation's adolescent uncertainty is how to find or create its own purpose in life4. Some find meaning in a religious commitment to a better world in heaven; others are inspired to create a better world here on Earth. In any case, the key to meaningful motivation is sincerity, or at least the ability to fake it.
4. “irony as meaning-
A common cynical response to the idealism & earnestness of inspired youth is cutting sarcasm. It's a way to expose the presumed hypocrisy of Idealism in a Real world. But it denies the possibility that Reality can be moved closer to Ideality. Which is why the BothAnd attitude combines realism & idealism, naivete & sohistication. It’s a balancing act.
Irony is insightful, and sometimes humorous. But Sarcasm is penetrating and damaging to the other guy – funny, as long as you're not the other guy. Sarcasm makes you seem superior to the deluded fools.
Blog Post 58 continued . . . click Next
1. The PostModern Critique
PM was cynical of Religion & Tradition, and sarcastic toward Modernism’s naïve faith in civilized progress through science & technology. Marxism asserted that human progress resulted from social struggle and class conflict.
http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page13.html
2. Forward to the Past :
Peterson seems to see Enlightenment Modernism and Dis-
Certainly, we should learn from the past, both its successed and its failures. But abandoning the wisdom of the present would be self-
3. Ignostic
Pseudo-
Gnosticism in all it’s forms, from ancient shamanism to modern Masonry, maintains its illusion of access to occult secrets, by with-
4. Existential Angst :
“A life crisis is about comparing our reality with the story we’ve told ourselves about meaning and purpose. . . .
We know who we are in terms of character and personality. We just don’t know what our place in the universe is, or what we’re supposed to do with our time here. . . .
Unhelpfully, this means we have no guidebook, scorecard, or firm moorings.”
https://www.quora.com/What-
In his 12 Rules for Life, Peterson offers a guide to establishing meaning by adopting a persona from ancient archetypes, myths, and metaphors.