For one, this book, and Dr. Peterson's overall project (including his lectures, talks based on this seminal text), has completely transformed--complicated, illuminated--my conception and understanding of the fundamental psychological and philosophical importance of narrative. I'm a better learner, teacher, analyst and critic because of this text, for which I'm truly grateful.

This book was a huge disappointment. It abounds with dense, often impenetrable, verbiage. Basic points are made repeatedly, but subtle ones occasionally appear in the middle of an argument and are never referenced again. Even worse, this text makes at least one statement that is factually wrong. This mistake is not a small oversight, either. It is one that demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the topic being discussed at that part in the text, and throws into question the validity of...

When I first discovered Jordan Peterson last summer, some months before his embroilment in the political controversy at the University of Toronto which made him a folk hero among the liberal right, I was first struck by some of the similarities between his intellectual journey, as he describes it, and my own. Like me, Peterson earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, but found himself unsatisfied with the exclusively materialist models of political behavior which seem to dominate the dis...

Pseudoscience and claptrap that tries its damndest to use big words to bolster itself. a whiny child is still a child no matters its vocabulary.

Maps of Meaning is one of the best books I have ever read. There were parts where I could only read a single page, and then had to stop for a day and reflect on what I had just read. Jordan is excellent at articulating abstract concepts in a way that more than making sense they just "resonate" with your soul, to put it some way. I believe it is an experience different to normal understanding of facts and agreeing to them, its more like listening to a tuned harmony that is just "true".I'd recomme...

In Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, Jordan Peterson attempts to explain the neuropsychological, phenomenological, and behavioral basis of mythological imagery while trying to encourage the reader towards the behavioral path of “heroic” exploration.Peterson argues that the empirical worldview (representing the world as “a place of things” that can be objectively tested and validated by multiple observers) is not how human beings primarily experience reality or how they decide to behav...

A few weeks ago my three year old daughter and I went to the library to check out some books. Usually she heads right to the section with Curious George while I peruse the kids books, looking for new and fun stories. Lately she’s been randomly grabbing books off the shelf and declaring she wants them. Surprisingly they are usually quite good. I don’t recall if she grabbed it or if I did, but we ended up with Scaredy Squirrel.We took it home and read it. It was hilarious. Poor Scaredy Squirrel is...

Disclaimers: 1) I don't think "Peterson is the evil misogynist, racist hero of the alt-right"2) I don't think he's the ally of Western civilization, rationality and Christendom, either. 3) There are a few common sensical things that he has said (in regards to gender theory), which I don't rule out.4) I'm Catholic, so Catholic things will ensue. He's using an outdated ahistorical, unscientific Jung / Campbell / Eliade / Neumann base (read Wolfgang Smith's Cosmos and Trascendence to see how far it...

Not an easy thing at all, which adds to the feeling of personal heroic fulfillment while reading the last page.A profound work which takes understanding of basic tree-act structure to the unprecedented depth. An exquisite example of how beautiful and fruitful multidisciplinary approach is. Two month of both suffering and savouring with a pencil in your hand. Was it worth it? Yes, it was indeed.

EDIT: THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 2015 and is not an endorsement of JBP's later political career-===========================~~~~~~~~^~~~~~===========================-This changed my way of thinking about fundamental notions. Towards the end it becomes harder to see exactly what he's getting at, and as the book progresses, the diagrams become more and more speculative, but for the first half at least it had a revelation on every page. Also, Peterson mentioned one of my favourite films, "Crumb" in a footn...

Jordan Peterson is obviously not an idiot. But he continuously repeats himself like one. He doesn't need as many words as he uses. People seem intimidated by the length of the book, and literally say, "It can't be summarized". Here's a summary:Humans are animals, and animals have systems that help them navigate the world. Humans create a model of the world. Things that go according to the model are considered good or at least not terrifying. Things that don't go according to the model are the fu...

"The truth seems painfully simple – so simple that it is a miracle, of sorts, that it can ever be forgotten. Love God, with all thy mind, and all thy acts, and all thy heart. This means, serve truth above all else, and treat your fellow man as if he were yourself – not with the pity that undermines his self-respect, and not with the justice that elevates yourself above him – but as a divinity, heavily burdened, who could yet seethe light.It is said, it is more difficult to rule oneself, than a c...

This is a work of great depth and complexity made accessible by Peterson's direct and engaging writing. Peterson synthesizes an array of scientific findings and philosophical frameworks as he endeavors to explain - to himself as much as his readers, it seems - what it means to be the creatures we are; burdened with the despair of our limitations, yet liberated by our capacity for self-redemption. To oversimplify, this book is an exploration of the religious and cultural myths of our species, and...

Jordan B. Peterson’s effort to engage the madness of our era is laudable. What’s worse, his views represent a throwback to Hegelian philosophy. Although he often mentions psychologist Carl Jung, his book Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (1999) has more to do with Hegel than Jung. It contains much of value; but his views are mostly commonsensical. It is a long and meandering book, where he often returns to the same argument. His theory revolves around the societal and cultural ideal. A...

One of the finest books on philosophy, human psyche and human interactions with nature. Lays down the importance of archetypal hero and responsibilities that entails on taking upon that role.It addresses these questions in details1> Even in the face of suffering and misery, why doing the best you can to lessen it makes sense.2> How man perceives/interacts with nature and its objects.3> Who is an archetypal hero?4> What traits makes one an archetypal hero.5> What happens when the state/being dege...

Maps of Meaning was published in 1999, to little critical or intellectual response. It gained a new life after Jordan Peterson questioned the legal parameters around language with regard to trans rights. From this point, and particularly after 12 Rules for Life - the self help book that dumbed down the genre to a point where even Oprah would find the resultant cocktail too sweet, basic and self absorbed - Maps of Meaning gained a new life.It is a book that is very basic. This rudimentary level h...

A remarkable book, a key text in its field. Peterson shows that the myths of Christian and other cultures are maps of the ways in which human beings deal with anomaly, be it to shape a renewed culture and save it from chaos, or let it stagnate into decadence or totalitarianism. He is very clear on the psychological value of the Christ mythos, dazzlingly interprets from a psychological point of view key passages from the Bible and other texts, and shows how right Jung was to take an interest in A...

Absolutely dreadful schlock that melds bromides about goal-setting, dubious bastardizations of myth scholarship, fretting about gulags, hilarious autobiography ripe for Freudian plucking, transmutations of the rich complexity of existentialism into simplistic glosses on basic points from Nietzsche & Dostoevsky that reactionaries love to cite, & numerous, repetitious diagrams as Peterson lacquers one diagram atop another to quilt a safety blanket to protect him from the feminine (presented altern...

Could we build a shelf on top of the top shelf? This book goes there.I remain astounded that he could write this book when he was only about 30.A brilliant man, an amazing mind, a challenge, a delight.

I just finished this book but I still need time to sit down and try to organize my thoughts about it. So this is more or a less my impressions immediately upon finishing it. But it says something about the depth and importance of what Peterson has to say that I couldn't possibly feel confident giving a proper review without sitting down and gathering my thoughts. Anyway, here goes nothing.Peterson is one of the only living intellectuals that routinely blows my mind. Peterson couches really stran...