Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A fascinating biography and in-depth look at the work of bestselling writer and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, by award-winning author Jim Proser.
Until May of 2017, Dr. Jordan Peterson was an obscure psychology professor at the University of Toronto. He was well-liked by his students for his insights, particularly on how free speech was essential to finding life-saving personal meaning in a frequently nihilistic and malevolent world. He had no idea of the firestorm that was about to engulf him, which would change his life forever.
He struck the first spark in September of 2016 with a YouTube video expressing his concern about Canadian parliament Bill C-16 that compelled the use of newly invented pronouns to address new gender identities. The following day, a critical article was written about Peterson's video in the university newspaper. A week later, a student demonstration targeted him as a gender bigot. The following week a demonstration supporting free speech supported Peterson's position. He was then fixed firmly at the center of the debate on human values that was beginning to split Western civilization apart.
With exclusive interviews of Dr. Peterson, his family, and associates, this book reveals the heart, mind, and teachings of our most controversial modern philosopher and outspoken defender of our sacred human rights. Proser examines Dr. Peterson's most important arguments, including:
- the supreme right to free speech
- the essential role of God in a healthy society
- the sanctity of the truth
- the redemptive power of individual responsibility
Synopsis
A fascinating biography and in-depth look at the work of bestselling writer and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson, by award-winning author Jim Proser.
Who is psychologist, professor, bestselling author, and YouTube personality Dr. Peterson? What does he believe in? Who are his followers? And why is he so controversial? These are among the many questions raised in this compelling, exhaustively researched account of his life--from Peterson's early days as a religious-school student in small-town Canada to his tenure at Harvard to his headline-making persona of the present day.
In Savage Messiah, we meet an adolescent Peterson who, scoffing at the "fairy tales" being taught in his confirmation class, asks his minister how it's possible to believe the Bible in light of modern scientific theory. Unsatisfied with the answer he's been given, Peterson goes on to challenge other authority figures who stood in his way as he dared to define the world in his own terms. This won Peterson many enemies and more admirers than he could have dreamed of, particularly during the digital era, when his nontraditional views could be widely shared and critically discussed. Still, a fall from grace was never far behind.
Peterson had always preached the importance of free speech, which he believed was essential to finding life-saving personal meaning in our frequently nihilistic world. But when he dismissed Canadian parliament Bill C-16, one that compelled the use of newly-invented pronouns to address new gender identities, Peterson found himself facing a whole new world. Students targeted him as a gender bigot. Conservatives called him their hero. Soon Peterson was fixed firmly at the center of the culture wars--and there was no turning back.
With exclusive interviews of Dr. Peterson, as well as conversations with his family, friends, and associates, this book reveals the heart and mind, teachings and practices, of one of the most provocative voices of our time.