A Critique of Jordan Peterson -- by Daniel Mackler 

just to make a small point. in your video on why you stopped being a therapist you mentioned you never worked with children as you don't think children should be in therapy but in this video you mention you have 'worked a lot with children in many contexts' (at the 2 minute stage of this video). I'm not criticizing your whole video. Just mulling over and thinking about what you say but just wanted to make this point.

Parents like to take credit for their children’s accomplishments but pass blame for their failures. Thank you Daniel.

This is how critique should be done. Rather than being superficial, you bring decades of your own experience to the discussion and talk about the concept in question rather than being preoccupied with the man himself. Just a level discussion of “what have I observed, and how does the book compare?”. In-depth, passionate, and clean of any ad hominem tangent. Being someone who spends most of my YT time in the critique end of the website, I wish more people reviewed things in this fashion. Thank you.

My husband was never allowed to do anything his parents didn't like or do things that made them dislike him. He ended up with a life that wasn't his and has crashed and burned under the immense weight of the pressure. He is 28 and just now beginning to grieve the losses of being treated like an art project one makes from scratch ("let me make you how I want you") rather than something to be "uncovered/discovered" over time ("who are you? who are you becoming?"). I can understand "don't let your children do anything harmful to themselves/something that would bring them harm"; but to do not do anything the parent doesn't like? The whole point of humanity is to be unique and separate from another - that will naturally beget likes and dislikes from others. It's natural. I think this is why we have an entire generation of many boomer parents who cannot fathom their children being separate entities from themselves with needs and wants that don't revolve around them - this sort of thinking is why. They are enmeshed psychologically and view children either as an extension of themselves or their property rather than separate beings you have the gift to guide/coach until they can manage on their own.

I'm 68. My parents and others of their generation believed in 'molding' the perfect child, not letting them blossom into whoever they wanted to be. Either we complied or we rebelled. Result? Guilt, shame, confusion, depression & unfulfillment of many in my generation.

Thank you for your perspective. I would like to add that not a lot of people know that neglecting a child is also abuse and source of trauma that leads to aggression that you mentioned at age of 2. And people tend to underestimate what neglect is and its effects. At very newborn stage, leaving them alone in the crib, not showing affection and communication, all that already starts the retardation of cognitive development. Some people say "Oh, I know friends who are very nice and unlikely to be child beaters at home, but their children still turned out to be uncivilized, biting" etc. Yes, they might not have been directly abusive to the child in the physical sense, but you don't know if that toddler in his infancy was crying all nights long asking to be picked up, but the parents just took it as normal stage for "sleep training" or "he'll learn to self-sooth". That child received a subconcious message that they're unwelcome to this world, or that this world is hostile, and their basic sense of security has not fully formed. Some parents think that the baby consists of only of their physical body and ignore the needs of their mind and soul for healthy development. And then get surprised how could they become "little monsters".

Your channel is a hidden gem on RU-vid. I love watching your videos.

I also think that traumatized people tend to seek out partners who have been traumatized and end up marrying each other. So the kids get not only one, but two, broken parents. My siblings also took their issues out on me, the youngest in the family. So now as a child I’m surrounded by 2 parents, two brothers, and a sister who acted out their frustrations and anger on me. I have dissociative identity disorder as a result. Good times…

I also find this rule troubling. You can control what your child does to a certain extent, but you cannot control who your child is.

I worked as a daycare teacher for almost 10 years. It was fairly easy to spot a connection between a child’s acting out and behaviors of the parents, even when only seeing a tip of the iceberg. It was common practice for teacher’s to spot and discuss red flag parents, and say....“Hmmmm”

Jordan Peterson always reminds me of Iain MacLeod's famous line about Enoch Powell: "I follow his logic as far as I can, but I always get off before the train hits the buffers."

You nailed it! If you learn more of his story you will uncover he never looked at his relationship with his own father.

I knew this was going to be good. I discovered your channel last night and am so grateful that I did. I’m a psychology major and you share all the information and discussion that I’ve been yearning for as I’ve gotten increasingly frustrated with the field. You’re incredible.

Thank you for validating trauma. Peterson himself has said how authoritarian his father was and has also talk about his depression and his own daughter depression issues. I think he is justifying how his parents raised him.

I'm with you on this. Peterson kind of makes me uneasy in his "lectures". Could never put my finger on it but, you did. Thank you for diving in for a closer look. I haven't had the time. Trauma recognition is key to real help, whether it's self-help or guided by others. Hats off, Doc.

Dr. Spok was the popular one for my grandparents generation and reading what he says gives me the shivers. There are a lot of people who believe in breaking a child’s spirit, people who can’t tolerate the messiness of them - when that’s nature. And happy healthy people grow up to express their true nature.

I always thought that Peterson doesn't have a self-awarness. He's like a showman on stage.

I have to add this, please. When my son was 2, I never said or chimed in to others who said anything about the "terrible twos", and he never exhibited any if those " behaviors". What I always did was give him reasons, and choices. I believe he grew up to be a most sensitive, reasonable young man. What you feed (focus on) grows. Thank you.

I’ve never commented on a RU-vid video before, but I just had to say how much I appreciate you. I’m a mental health counselor, and I originally found your video about why you stopped counseling. I’ve been in the profession for about 4 years, and have been struggling emotionally and professionally for about a year, and I’m coming to many realizations that you outlined in your “6 reasons” video. I can’t express enough how much your perspective is so spot on with how I’ve been feeling. I feel really alone in my feelings about this, and I feel as if so many mental health professionals emotionally distance themselves from their clients, that I don’t have anyone at the practice I work at to talk to that shares these feelings. I’ve tried to talk with my supervisor, and the advice I’m given is the standard “are you using self-care? If you’re feeling overwhelmed emotionally, put some emotional distance between you and your client.” But the thing is, I don’t feel emotionally overwhelmed by my clients-they’re beyond amazing and I’m seriously honored every day that they share the most intimate parts of themselves with me. It’s the not feeling heard by my colleagues and peers that is emotionally draining. It’s lonely questioning the system that you’re a part of, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you for talking about what others defend so religiously.

After watching a lot of JP's lectures and videos I felt there was something missing. Contrary to his work I can relate to Daniel's ideas in so many ways. Thank you for this great video.

Bad behavior isn't always about oppressive parents. Children acting out can also be the result of overly passive/protective parents who fail to teach their children how to self-regulate and don't set appropriate boundaries with them. I think what Peterson meant (I've listened to a lecture he gave on the subject) is that children shouldn't be mollycoddled which is what happens with a lot of modern parenting these days.

I agree his tip should be : "If your child does something dislikable from your perspective figure out why you find it dislikable and figure out why your child behaves that way"

Upon first *seeing* Jordan Peterson, my perception was REPRESSION. I was immediately repelled by him. I can't seem to see the exterior without seeing the interior. He "felt" positively creepy. And, as I listened, he was *negatively* creepy. High intelligence does not confer goodness or wisdom upon a personality. In his case, I believe he hides behind his IQ. 🐯

I firmly believe that we have to become children again, with the intelligence and cunning of adults, wearing our true emotions and passions with pride, so everyone can see them and participate, being vulnerable but at the same time not defenseless due to outstanding experience. Only then can we create a world which will not traumatize the next generation. Watching your video I realize that JP probably thinks that trauma is a normal state of being. Instead of resolving it, he accepted it and then went as far as possible. And that is just as far as he got being smart as he is.

Thanks. Kids are no "cruel monsters". It's crazy to see it like that even

If your child does something that makes you dislike him, and he does it because of the environment, then MAKE sure you build the RIGHT environment around him, whatever that means for each individual.

I think it would be more accurate to say that people with emotional trauma in their childhood often go on to seek resolution to that trauma from the people around them. So they'll seek out the same type of person that originally hurt them, hoping each time that "this time it will be different". This, perhaps, goes some way to explaining why some people end up with a string of abusive partners.

Thank goodness! A psychotherapist who isn't a grifter for the "free" market. Being able to empathize with people who have suffered trauma is so important. JBP certainly seems to have huge issues of his own which he does not address at all.

All therapists are flawed. That doesn't mean that their work doesn't have tremendous benefit. People are responsible for thinking for themselves and not just "trusting" and deferring to "experts". Peterson is a deep-thinker and philosopher. He also seems to very genuinely care about Humanity and individual human beings. He discusses the sacredness of being a psychotherapist in the privilege to hear people's unique life stories. He is flawed. What he has contributed to Humanity is so necessary and valuable at this time. Just the simple act of taking an unwavering courageous stand to the Canadian government and University system, in regard to compelled speech, is a priceless contribution. Very few are willing to sacrifice themselves in the face of true tyranny; he walks his talk.

Please keep making videos. Your perspective is important. Thank you.

Seeing JP speak often makes me feel like he got some traumatic issues. Something went wrong in his life and he's still fighting to get over with that. I don't know if he suffered or suffers from acute depression. But truly loved your video. Thank you.

When I was 11 my dad, in a fit of rage after stepping on one of my toys, threw me face first into a closet where my toybox was kept. He had built it himself and it was pretty simple and had these sharp corners. I grazed it face first and luckily it just split my lip, but if I'd hit wrong it could have disfigured me or, if I'd been really unlucky, killed. Afterwards I threatened to call child protective services on him and dad laughed in my face, asking if I thought I'd be better off as an orphan cared for by the state. He was right and I knew it, I was better off with him, financially stable and merely willing to risk killing me when I acted out. I didn't call. Years later when dealing with a mental health crisis my fad laughed at me for seeking professional help, accusing me of trying to work the system like "you always do." His example was that time I threatened to call cps on him. In his mind as an adult I'd recognize how foolish I was as a kid. When I reminded him about throwing me in the closet he shut up and has never brought that concept or incident up since. It's as close to an apology as I'm likely to get. For years I think I'd internalized the belief that I had been a bad kid, that I was a scam artist always out to work the system in my favor, despite the fact that I do not live my life that way and in fact usually reject even the assistance I'm owed by whatever systems I interact with. This encounter with dad opened my eyes slightly, still a lot of work to do, I still internally believe I am the problem, most of the time.

Thank you for having a genuine critique of JP that isn't a big dump on him and his entire existence. Too many people, even in this comment section, try to bury him in their own unresolved self-hate and mistrust. It's one thing to disagree with someone, but it's another to write paragraphs and make videos trying to discredit everything about him. I read this book when it came out and I found there was a lot of info that helped me and over time I've found my own critiques about him, and your video pointed out some important flaws that I wouldn't consider. Love your channel

I raised my kids to grow up to be people that I could associate and be friends with as adults. It has worked out very well. I like them. They like me.

Bless you. You've put your finger on something huge, and explained it so very well. I was riveted.

My parents sucked. they divorced when I was 7. I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me. when we were little, he'd spit on me, or claw me with his nails or hit me or whatever. My mom took the "survival of the fittest" approach. sometimes we'd fight right in front of her, and she'd do nothing. she figured the stronger one would win, and the situation would sort itself out. she didn't care who won. My dad, on the other hand, would yell at BOTH of us, regardless of who was the troublemaker. I guess he just expected me to let my brother victimize me. Once, when I was 13, I hit my brother in the nose and bloodied his nose. He said something that pissed me off, i can't remember what now (I'm 42). I'm happy I did that, it's not like either of my parents were gonna defend me.

"Met" JP through the Jungian series of lectures he posted on RU-vid. The series I was fascinated by was the one wherein he pretty much interpreted the bible in Jungian terms -- something I'd been longing to see for decades. Loved it. Despite JP's personality (sometimes derisive and angry) I never felt like I was required to agree with everything he thought or said. I watched a few interviews with feminists after he got in trouble with them and it seemed obvious to me that he was talking Jungian while they were talking something else and misunderstandings obviously resulted. That sais, he clearly doesn't "get" how angry women are about 6,000 years of oppression. Then, he had his serious benzo crash that really ruined his life. I was surprised that he didn't know how dangerous these chemicals were and how many people had been crippled by them. But, apparently he was just trusting the docs that prescribed them. That was disappointing. Now, he seems to have gone off the tracks in the big way -- just a terrible train wreck. It's sad.

First we need to define what exactly is a Jordan Peterson.

FINALLY i see a video where someone criticizes J B Peterson on the content of what he actually says and writes. Usually they just use arguments like "he uses overly complicated language to explain a simple thing in one hour" or "he's like literally Hitler". That rule about the children is actually the major problem I have with Peterson, it has always seemed authoritarian for a man who so fervently disavows authoritarianism.

In Gabor Mates book The myth of Normal, he mentions Peterson and quotes him saying “When my daughter was little, I could paralyse her into immobility with an evil glance”.

When I came across Jordan Peterson on RU-vid, I realized some of the things he preached made perfect sense but some of the things were quite disturbing. The problem of having such a teacher is that he'll lead you astray and you'll not even know it.

I totally agree with you, David. We need to see kids for who they are. Children are basically helpless. They need gentle care and empathy. Understand the child from the child's perspective. They will learn what it is to grow up as a healthy adult this way.

Holy shit this is very accurate, I can't believe I missed this... As a child who refused to believe he was traumatised, but an adult who is now trying to accept the responsibility for this trauma and how it's affecting my behaviour, this struck a very resonant chord.

Its incredible how i realised being just a teenager that I would only have children once i healed from the madness of my family and society i was born into. 36years old, still healing, but things are getting better.

Having trauma as a child from my primary caregivers I cant tell you how much I appreciate you taking the arms in defence of the children

I've got a father who thinks like JP. I broke off contact a few years ago......

Watching this 4 years later and JP’s credibility is at an all time low

I fully understand and respect why you no longer do therapy. You are one in a million. I can only hope you continue sharing your thoughts online. Your insight is invaluable!

"It depends on what you mean by Jordan Peterson".

I think the best defense to rule #5 is that his point was to not let yourself have any legitimate excuse to hate your kids, as it can be a problem if one is authentic here (and a problem if one isn't authentic of course). I will say I think the analysis done here is amazing, superior, and more in-depth. There are bad ways of enacting rule #5, is one thing I get from this video.

I realized this a while back. As a society parents get all the credit for a child's success but their failures are their own

By the way, another take on the "Spare the rod" comment. The rod spoken about is a shepherds crook and is a rod of correction to help the sheep know which way to go, to guide them safely and with care, not to beat them senseless if they strayed from the flock. A Shepard protected his sheep, even to the point of giving up his own life to save one of them. He never beat the sheep into submission with his rod. “Thy rod and thy staff comfort me”. But many people who believe in hitting and abusing children use “spare the rod, spoil the child” to justify child abuse. Just my two cents worth as a Christian. Its one reason why Jesus was called The Good Shepard.

True story: I read Peterson’s book when it first came out, and I thought of you when I got to that chapter. At the beginning of this video, I guessed that this is the chapter you had an issue with. However, I don’t think Peterson would necessarily disagree with what you say about trauma. He was making a different point entirely - namely, he was admonishing a culture that exists in which parents let their children do whatever they want, because they believe rules will destroy the natural goodness of children. Indeed, the fear parents have in creating boundaries for their children might itself be due to trauma.

Peterson describes children as "little balls of potential", which is why he seems them as good and bad, and not just fundamentally one or the other. He also doesn't see misbehavior as fundamentally bad *per se*, as it can be a child's natural demeanor to want to push boundaries with people to find out where exactly they are, and specifically with young boys, some levels of aggression and competition are a primary form of playing and forming bonds with one another. While you may be correct in that much of a baby's misbehavior can be mirroring traumatized parents or responding to said parents, I think it's extraordinarily disingenuous to presume that babies are simply born fundamentally good and it's the trauma of their reality that introduces evil into their lives. As far as I can tell, you have no more proof for that claim than Peterson does for his. And really, there are plenty of scenarios that I think points to Peterson being more correct. If a small child innocently uses permanent markers to make a mural on your hallway's walls (something I personally did as a child), you wouldn't explain that away as a trauma response, despite it being mildly destructive behavior in some way (and certainly a hassle for the parents), as it's clearly an innocent act of spontaneous, childish creativity and passion. I think you and Peterson are kind of talking over each other a bit here, and I think he'd actually agree with a lot of what you're saying. His point is, don't let yourself come to hate your child enough to torment/abuse them, but his sticking point is enforcing boundaries with the children rather than practicing patience and tolerance with children (ie. in some way, putting the responsibility on the child rather than the parent, which I don't fully agree with). But I think he does that because, at the end of the day, he is a conservative, and he does believe that it's a parent's job to make sure that their child doesn't just grow up loved and cared for, but also socialized and *socially desirable*. Peterson could've coined Rule #5 as, "don't let your kids do anything that will make society ostracize them", and it would make about as much sense. And you guys will just always fundamentally disagree on that point, I think. Clearly your life experiences have led you to finding success and (I hope) happiness in finding yourself and rejecting the social constraints that were placed upon you when you were younger. Peterson's story is essentially the exact opposite. Whereas you're a voice for the outcasts, the traumatized, Peterson is a voice for but more specifically young men who increasingly don't have a father figure in their lives, and who have no idea what it even means to be a man, or what their place in the world is.

If the abuse starts before the child can remember, it can be INCREDIBLY difficult for them to see through the manipulation. I am almost 22 years old personally, and I just discovered the last pieces to this horrible puzzle only a few days ago. Also, my parents have always had an obsession with Peterson, go figure. Still shaking off the shock, got a lot of maturing to make up. Stay safe out there. sirk saw

Dr Gabor Mate mentioned several times that JP has unresolved trauma.

I just realized that not letting your children do anything that makes you dislike them is one way parents can pass on their dysfunction, their mental illnesses, to their children. Peterson has tremendous repressed rage, and he often, without realizing it, talks about that rage. Not tolerating children is one way to express such rage. Complaining that it's not acceptable to hit women, or at least communicate the possibility of hitting a woman, is another expression of repressed rage.

I pass by every video of Jordan Peterson - and he has a lot of them! - because he completely creeps me out. That's enough information for me.

2:12 that rule bugged me too. Don’t let your kids do something that makes you dislike them… Thanks for putting your finger on it. The rule opens up kids to so much crazy. What about kids naturally doing things that trigger their parent’s unresolved trauma. You are so right. So many parents abuse their kids when the kid brings up feelings in them that they don’t want to look at. In fact I think it is fair to say that all child abuse happens under this mindset - projection of the parents shadow onto the innocent child. Thank you for helping me see this.

Yeah, I am a Gabor Mate girl, however, he thinks all parents are doing the best they can and they all love their children. I can say that part of his take, I absolutely do not agree with.

Yes. It’s such a shame that most of us don’t realize we have unresolved traumas until we become parents.

30 years ago I brought up my babies in the attachment style. They were wonderful toddlers. One tantrum each. That’s all. My son didn’t want leave the playground, and my daughter through the famous tantrum at the supermarket. They new mommy was there for them, but wouldn’t fall for the manipulation😂 They are wonderful loving independent adults. And my daughter just had a baby. She’s doing the same as I did.

I've needed your content in my life for a long time Dan. I've felt, experienced and believed a lot of what you say about parents passing on trauma to their kids. I'm always met with resistance, people not only dont want to be held accountable, they would rather continue the vicious cycle that hurts their child. I never listen when parents say their child is the most important thing, everyone can and does lie. Only actions can determine whether you truely do put the child first.

I remember everything from my childhood, and I'm 38 now. I knew there was a problem with them from the age of 4. I remember screaming at my dad that I hated him when I was 4. I mean, what can you do if the child's behaviour is right and the parent's behaviour is wrong. I went to bed starving all throughout childhood, and when I finally moved out permanently around 26, I was a bloody mess of a person, even though I had a physics degree, I had barely eaten anything, I was just a shell of a human being, just a shell. I might be 38 but it feels like 12. I still haven't spoken to anybody really and I highly doubt I'll meet someone who will speak to me. There are 9 year olds who have more social experiences than me. It's actually quite frightening to think about, but it's true. I'm JP's worst nightmare, because I'm a walking contradiction to the major things that he believes about the world.

So true! I’m a foster parent and I use to try and “fix” traumatized children. I one day had an epiphany that I had to except them for who they are and allow them to be dysfunctional. The key is to be an example to them of unconditional love snd acceptance!

3 min in and I could not love this video more. Thank you for creating and posting your videos!

I have worked with children all my life and I recognize all you describe here. The relation to my own childhood experiences and how I came upon my impossibilities to truly relate to a child later .. The necessity to release and heal myself from those, and if not not,.. it brings tears to my eyes, and a feeling of relieve in my heart... I am not guilty for what I could not be back then, but so happy, thankful and motivated to continue my path of healing and transforming myself and becoming who I was meant to be. Becoming myself. Find true connection. To children, animals, all creation. Doing so I am coming home finally. Love you Daniel.

Actually that was a phrase that struck me too, but very differently. My mother, being raised in a strict uncompromising home, went to the opposite extreme with us children. She absolutely refused to set boundaries or enforce any sort of structure . Result: chaos. She developed a deep , hidden dislike for her own children who she now viewed as ungrateful brats. Knowing your own mother dislikes you is devastating. I so wish we had learned structure and boundaries along WITH proper ways to express our feelings- and be heard and understood. Maybe everyone could have grown and learned then.

"The children's bad behavior is actually a reaction to a parental behavior." This is exactly what the rule is speaking too. Jordan Peterson's entire mantra is to take personal responsibility and not to cast your issues onto others(including children) to deal with. See: "Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world." Here's what I see you doing, which is perfectly good. I see you siding on the side of compassion, which is pretty likely seeing as you are trained as a therapist. What do you do after the compassion though? You lead people toward action, right? You lead them to solutions, a way to move forward. Coming from my own personal experience, I used to enjoy when people were compassionate to my woes, it felt good to be understood. But if that's all I ever got, I'd be an empathy seeking vampire. "When children are acting out who are violent and mean[cic] they are expressing things about their homelife." I don't think JP would disagreee with you here, and this is exactly his point: if you are creating a bad influence, you are allowing your children(you are responsible), to do things that now(and later down the road) will make you dislike them(while still loving them). I'd recommend you check out some videos of him explaining in person what he was talking about, as he can be a pretty harsh speaker in books to make his points be hard hitting (ie "Advice is what someone gives when they want you to shut up and go away... (he then goes into a comparison of advice and psychotherapy)).

Oh man when he said, "it starts at the top" meaning the parents, it made me think about how my mother would say to me, when I was struggling with unfairness among my siblings, "It has to start somewhere." But she was implying that it needs to start with me and I was the one in her mind to make whatever sacrifice was at hand in the moment. Oh and if I didn't want to make that sacrifice, I was selfish. "Don't be so selfish" she'd say.

This guy is the most underrated Genius. Jordan Peterson's work has helped me a lot (*in general*) in the past 6 years, but since I refuse to let my brain go sideways, and having been in so described around 14:50, I am so glad to hear literally all the questioning I had upfront from someone else... That's very interesting. ID ABSOLUTELY LOVE to listen to both them on a podcast, but it should have at least 3h!!!! ❤ In a polarised world we live in, this is virtue.

I admire JP, but as a recovering BPD, that very chapter really sent my head spinning. I’m so happy to know that I’m not alone in feeling that way. Thank you for this video.

I randomly discovered your channel and I'm so glad that I did. You clearly put a lot of empathy and thought into what you say.

Maybe JPeterson should have said something like: A healthy loving and conscious parent should not tolerate his child doing any kind of harmfull behavior that would make the parent dislike the child? I don't believe that JP is not aware of parents harmful behavior due to stress and trauma. I think he may be talking just about simple fact that parents job is to set healthy boundaries.

The fact Peterson twists everything he's ever learned and connects it to religion is a big red flag for me.

As I understand JP's rule 5, the idea is to help your kids successfully socialize, to help them progress from the animals we all are when born, to civilized human beings. Then you, and other adults, will love being with and helping them. Other kids will love to play with them. Big benefits. My credentials: former licensed hairstylist in Indiana.

Here is advice from Jordan Peterson about raising children (the RU-vid link to this lecture at the correct timecode is below): "And now and then you know you read in the newspaper about someone who’s, you know, being pushed a little bit too far on some day that they’re unemployed and hungover and you know their relationship is just broken up and they do something absolutely brutal to their child and you think well “how could anyone do that” it’s like there’s a lot of history of terrible interactions between the mother and the child or the father and the child before something like that happens. So you know if you want to protect your child against the beast that’s inside you you might want to teach them to treat you with some respect so that you’re much more likely to be a civilized human being around them." As parents we should teach children to walk on eggshells around us, or we might explode and release the beast inside of us? When someone is "brutal" to their child, the best way to protect the child is to make it the child's responsibility to treat the parent with respect? It's actually teaching people to traumatise their children. He is definitely not teaching people to heal their own childhood trauma. The fact that Jordan Peterson is taken so seriously by so many people really scares me. (And if people want more context, well the entire lecture is in the same link and is nearly 2 hours long.) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4tQOlQRp3gQ.htmlh14m54s

Ive learned more in two of your videos that came up on my feed than i have in a long time. Thank you. Ive subscribed. Looking forward to learning more.

I get uncanny valley vibes from him the same way I do when I encounter a narcissist. I’m not saying he is a narcissist, but something’s definitely off

I knew I had bad vibes about him and you helped articulate why.

Thank you so much for pointing out the horrendous continuation of "poisonous pedagogy" (Alice Miller) in this chapter by Jordan Peterson. I knew of him and watched him a little bit, had mixed feelings because of a certain slickness and intellectual arrogance, did not follow up further. And if I had stumbled upon this chapter, I would have just been as horrified. So often when we look under the surface of seemingly intelligent minds we find exactly this: no empathy, no serious confrontation with your own childhood experiences, let alone therapy to deal with those and their after-effects. And this is a psychologist? I know you consider Alice Miller one of the best, and so do I (in spite of the revelations thanks to her son's report), all throughout her life she tirelessly wrote and lectured as an advocat for children. She is looked upon as "outdated" by many (as I found out to my dismay), but listening to this she is still the pioneer she always was. Poisonous pedagogy is coming back in many ways, books, films, the media, as if we are heading back into the dark ages. Thanks for being so passionate about this topic, for the sake of the children, and all of us, actually.

Peterson also explains the word meek in the Bible as a different word than what the Bible is actually meaning.

Refreshing and sensible! I'm glad I found your channel, you are thinking very critically of things that I would easily gloss over.

I wished Danial Macklers book "Breaking from your parents" would be as popular as 12 rules for life.

When I first watched some of Peterson's lectures I thought "This stuff is cool and interesting", but the more I watched the more they seemed trite when they weren't just plain wrong.

My dad was a police officer, and a very well known one. There was no way I was going to call the police or runaway for fear of being right back to square one. I wish I would’ve at least tried to run away instead of enduring the physical abuse. I’m now in my 40s and sober thank God, however, I’m now painfully aware that I’m a semi-functional broken person who’s scary good at acting normal. Self-diagnosed C-PTSD, fits me better than if I were to roll all the zodiac signs into one, lol.

Thank you for this critique and for your strong advocacy of children. I’ve spent my entire career advocating for kids and, as you’ve noted elsewhere, it doesn’t always make one popular. I retired last year and I spent the last 12 1/2 years of my career in full time private practice. It was painful to hear how kids and also parents were treated. There are so many therapists out there that have no business treating kids and families. I feel as if I’ve found a kindred spirit in you and I’m so happy for you in following your heart’s desires.

I loooooove this video! I came upon Jordan's videos last year and some were really interesting and useful but some of his ideas always rubbed me the wrong way. Anyways, the hierarchy of the family and how it is well setup for parents passing down traumas to their children reminded me of the army. Have you ever thought about the pathology of army hierarchy and its culture of physical and psychological abuse towards lower ranks from upper ranks? Would love to heard you talk about this.

My 2 year old tried using violence, hitting and biting, and there was never any violence to her or around her. And I was with her 24/7 so I'm sure of that. She learned that being violent gets her a time-out and she stopped quickly. But I could definitely see a lack of punishment leading to a child using violence more and more, especially if it gets them what they want.

According to wiki on Peterson: „In late 2019 Peterson sought "emergency" detox from benzodiazepine addiction.[210] Peterson stated this rehab was the result of his prescribed dosage of clonazepam being increased after his wife Tammy was diagnosed with kidney cancer.[209] According to Peterson, he made several attempts to reduce dosage or stop the drug completely,[209] but experienced "horrific" benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome.”

I like many of your videos and you offer a different perspective, which is great. I would like to add that your explanation of disproving of Jordan Peterson's rule #5 imo actually proved his point at 11 min in to your video. Show your children what you like, praise them for it, and don't let them do otherwise (teach them otherwise). You could get into semantics etc. but I see nothing wrong and see it as a simple and powerful message. I don't feel the need to pick it apart in that way but to each their own.

Peterson certainly is holding trauma. He's quick to anger in situations where it doesn't seem warranted.

The point about generational trauma is another reason for me to have no kids.

Dan, its a great discovery to find your channel, its really helps to cope with all the stuff. Thank you so much

Absolutely brilliant. And I totally agree with your analysis of Jordan. I've read his work and watched his presentations over the years and also witnessed the shocking changes his experience seems to have wrought upon him. My honest feeling about him is that he is one of the most tromented souls I have ever seen.

I can tell you easily why Peterson said the thing about parents regulating their kids behavior. He though about everything you said, mostly about the history of human childhood and he is presenting an antidote to the false promise of optimism, where you think that having an opportunity to exempt your child from parent-induced trauma is equal to a better outcome. You would have to think about how that's achieved. Do you think there's anyone in this world better suited to raise a child besides the average well-meaning biological parent? Have you looked into how child abuse skyrockets when the caregivers are not the progenitors? Also, have you no appreciation for the stability and steady advancement the nuclear family has provided through history? Obviously every child will be abused from every possible angle, that's the beauty in Peterson's perspective, he always acknowledges the demons. That's what makes him so effective. There is nothing worse than a psychotherapist that uses idealism to create expectations in their patients.

Really enjoyed listening to this analysis. I'm wondering if the myriad of chronic illness's of Jordan Peterson's daughter are related to nature or nurture? The book, "The body keeps the score" makes me question my own chronic illness.

“If this is his point of view then I have to question everything he has to say”. Good ending Daniel.

D, Mackler strikes me as a well balanced thinker -- strongly INTUITIVE but also intellectually very capable. Thus far, he resembles a fine kind of Jungian psychologist

Thank you for your brillant videos, Daniel! So happy I found you!!!🧁