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12 Rules for Life
A review of

12 Rules for Life

An Antidote to Chaos

Jordan B. PetersonPRH CA • 2018

Put Your House in Order

by David Meyer

Jordan Peterson doesn’t shy away from controversy or moral certitude as he posits 12 rules for life.

In this international bestseller, author, clinical psychologist and University of Toronto psychology professor Jordan B. Peterson draws on religion, philosophy, neuroscience and anthropology to formulate “12 rules” for living a meaningful life. His rules seem familiar because many derive from Christian ethics – which, Peterson says, inform Western culture – most notably the duty to accept suffering and to alleviate it. 

Readers may be put off by Jordan’s references to God and philosophy, not to mention his controversial remarks about men and women and his thoughts on disciplining children with force. But Peterson never lacks sincerity and his message is clear: You must accept responsibility for your life.
The Observer said, “Peterson can take the most difficult ideas and make them entertaining. This may be why his YouTube videos have had 35 million views.” The Guardian called Peterson, “One of the most eclectic and stimulating public intellectuals at large today, fearless and impassioned.” And The Times wrote, “You don’t have to agree with [Peterson’s politics] to like this book, for once you discard the self-help label, it becomes fascinating. Peterson is brilliant on many subjects.”


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