Peterson is a clinical psychologist, who had a private practice for over 20 years. During this time he was a university professor in psychology, latterly at the University of Ontario.
He recorded and has posted hundreds of hours of his lectures, including Maps of Meaning, dating back many years. He’s a Jungian, and has spent decades examining totalitarian regimes. I’ve watched a huge amount of these; there’s no smoking gun. He’s not a transphobe, or a woman hater, or a racist.
He came to prominence in 2016, outraged by the Canadian government’s attempt to compel speech, by force of law, (Bill C16) in the case of personal pronouns. His motivation was his life long study of how totalitarian regimes emerged. Also his clinical experience, which informed his view as to whether this compulsion would actually benefit those it was meant to protect.
I’m mainly interested in his work as a psychologist. I’ve questioned some of his ideas over the past few years, as he’s become more involved in political and social issues. But for a man who spends his life thinking, speaking and writing it would be strange to agree with every word and idea.
He is hugely misquoted and misinterpreted, with many journalists looking for a “gotcha” moment. I’m certainly not saying this to be a cool girl, as somebody mentioned in a pp. I spend most of my time here on the Feminist boards.
To see what Peterson is really about I’d recommend his podcast interviewing a young woman who fled North Korea, Yeonmi Park. It’s astonishing. She’s awe inspiring, and his real personality and motivations are clear.