Oh look, another article criticizing Jordan Peterson

A Facebook group now compiles Jordan Peterson “character assassinations”. This hilarious compilation shows the good, the bad, the ugly of people trying to criticize a public intellectual with whom they disagree.

Even if you like Peterson (as I do), it is useful to consider these critiques, to hear the other side. It’s also plain amusing to read the more unhinged and vitriolic hot takes people keep writing. If you’re not a Peterson fan, these articles might help you articulate your criticisms.

You’ll notice a smattering of articles from November 2017 through April 2018, followed by a rapid uptick of articles in May. Will June bring have another flood of articles or not?

Without further ado, a (fairly complete) list of articles criticizing JBP:

November 2017 - February 2018

  1. “Jordan Peterson is causing problems at another university now”. By Drew Brown. Vice. Nov 20, 2017
  2. “The Professor of Piffle – The dangerous underside of Jordan Peterson’s crusade against the humanities” by Ira Wells. Nov 27, 2017
  3. “The Jordan Peterson Paradox: high intellect, or just another angry white guy?” by John Semley. The Globe and Mail. January 31, 2018
  4. “Jordan Peterson’s Bull***t.” by Harrison Fluss. Jacobin Mag. February 2, 2018.
  5. “The Right’s Favorite New Intellectual Has Some Truly Pitiable Ideas About Masculinity – why does anyone take Jordan Peterson seriously?”, by Jacob Bacharach. Alternet. February 13, 2018.
  6. “Why Are So Many Young Men Drawn to Jordan Peterson’s Intellectual Misogyny?” by Grant Maxwell, APA Online. February 20, 2018.
  7. “A Serious Man”, by John Ganz. The Baffler. February 7, 2018.

March

  1. “Jordan Peterson & Fascist Mysticism”, by Pankaj Mishra. NYR Daily. March 19, 2018.
  2. “The Intellectual We Deserve”, by Nathan J. Robinson. Current Affairs. March 14, 2018
  3. “A Messiah-cum-Surrogate-Dad for Gormless Dimwits: On Jordan B. Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life””, by Houman Barekat. LA Review of Books. March 8, 2018.
  4. “How Anti-Leftism Has Made Jordan Peterson a Mark for Fascist Propoganda”, by Noah Berlatsky. Pacific Standard. March 2, 2018
  5. “Sorry, Jordan Peterson: rage isn’t a great look for a self-help guru”, by Nesrine Malik. The Guardian. March 23, 2018.

April

  1. “A (Scorching) Review of 12 Rules for Life”, by Richard Poplak. Johannesburg Review of Books. April 4, 2018.
  2. “Thus Spoke Jordan Peterson – The best-selling psychologist isn’t leading young men to salvation — he’s delivering them to authoritarianism.” by David Livingstone Smith, John Kaag. April 4, 2018.

May

  1. “Is Jordan Peterson Enabling Jew Hatred?”, by Ari Feldman. Forward. May 11, 2018
  2. “Jordan Peterson Exposed as Globalist Operative…” by Shane Trejo. PB News. May 14, 2018.
  3. “How white male victimhood got monetised”, by Damien Walter. Independent. May 16, 2018.
  4. “Jordan Peterson, Custodian of the Patriarchy” by Nellie Bowles. New York Times. May 18, 2018.
  5. “The New York Times Enters the Icy Domain of Jordan Peterson, the Incel’s Intellectual”, by Whitney Kimball. Jezebel. May 20, 2018.
  6. “Jordan Peterson Revealed as a Men’s Rights Activists”, by James S. Fell. Body for Wife. May 22, 2018
  7. “Jordan Peterson Seems Like a Terrible Therapist” by Jonathan Foiles. Slate. May 22, 2018.
  8. “Why Reasoning with Jordan Peterson Fans Can’t Work, Or: Privilege is a Feeling State”, by Matthew Remski. May 21, 2018
  9. “Jordan Peterson and the Rise of the Cargo Cult Intellectual”, by Helen Lewis. New Statesman. May 23, 2018
  10. “Jordan Peterson may be a ‘public intellectual’, but his latest theory isn’t very clever”, by Hadley Freeman. May 23, 2018
  11. “Jordan Peterson’s moment of fame — and the dangers of patriarchal pseudoscience”, by Jared Yates Sexton. Salon. May 22, 2018.
  12. “Don’t Fall For The New, Well-Groomed Alt-Right. It’s Still The Alt-Right”, by Max Koslowski. Junkee. 23 May 2018.
  13. “Solo: A Star Wars Story shows us the hero all feminist men have been waiting for”, by Damien Walter. Independent. May 23, 2018.
  14. “Jordan Peterson Is The New Chief Lobbyist For ‘Nice Guys’ And Incels” by Davide Mastracci. Huffintong Post. May 31, 2018
  15. “I was Jordan Peterson’s strongest supporter. Now I think he’s dangerous”, by Bernard Schiff. The Star. May 25, 2018.

June

  1. “Jordan Peterson is the Flat Earth Society of psychology and philosophy” by Caitlin Cohen. Dead State. June 2, 2018.
  2. “Jordan Peterson’s Anti-Christian Vision”, by Nirmal Dass. Hedge Accordingly. June 3, 2018
  3. “The Fundamental Errors of Jordan Peterson”, by Scott Oliver. Vice. June 4, 2018
  4. “Christ on a bike – the strange case of Jordan Peterson”, by Richard Cooke. The Monthly. June 6, 2018
  5. “A feminist philosopher makes the case against Jordan Peterson”, by Sean Illing. Vox. June 6, 2018.

I’ll update the list if this post is useful (just leave a comment if so). But for the most recent examples, join the Facebook group!