Review of '12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
What at first seemed to be a dull, shallow read ended up being quite involving and pertinent to our time. Due to obligations in my day-to-day life, I am sad to say I won't be able to write a proper review of the book and all the ideas contained within. A lot of what he writes I see as self-evident, but it's very nice to see someone formulate it.
Still, I do believe there are certain parts that deserve proper criticism, but during this read, I failed to identify them. I hope to amend this when I reread the book, someday in the future.
[Edit:] There is one thing that Peterson does quite badly, or at least inelegantly, and that is his use of mythology. At times he's brilliant, especially with Christianity, but with other mythologies he's pretty lacking. To his defence, he does stick to the Christian tradition most …
What at first seemed to be a dull, shallow read ended up being quite involving and pertinent to our time. Due to obligations in my day-to-day life, I am sad to say I won't be able to write a proper review of the book and all the ideas contained within. A lot of what he writes I see as self-evident, but it's very nice to see someone formulate it.
Still, I do believe there are certain parts that deserve proper criticism, but during this read, I failed to identify them. I hope to amend this when I reread the book, someday in the future.
[Edit:] There is one thing that Peterson does quite badly, or at least inelegantly, and that is his use of mythology. At times he's brilliant, especially with Christianity, but with other mythologies he's pretty lacking. To his defence, he does stick to the Christian tradition most of the time, and that's probably also where he feels most at home. His understanding of Buddhism and what the Buddha said is somewhat lacking, as is his understanding of Daoism and the DaoDeJing.
I am 100% sure that he could write this book and make a BETTER case of it without referencing a single mythology, except for maybe Christianity and the Bible.
Speaking of which, one of my good friends who moved to Asia a few years back, would very much enjoy this book. It is right up his alley. I believe it's a book more people should read, generally.
From pages 282 -283 there's a few passages that I'd like to share, which give good advice:
"You have to consciously define the topic of a conversation, particularly when it is difficult — or it becomes about everything, and everything is too much. [...] Every argument degenerates into every problem that ever emerged in the past, every problem that exists now, and every terrible thing that is likely to happen in the future. No one can have a discussion about 'everything'. [...]
But to do that, you have to think: What is wrong, exactly? What do I want, exactly? You must speak forthrightly and call forth the habitable world from chaos. You must use honest precise speech to do that. If instead you shrink away and hide, what you are hiding from will transform itself into a giant dragon that lurks under your bed and in your forest and in the dark recesses of your mind — and it will devour you. [...]
If you don't know where you are, precisely, then you could be anywhere. Anywhere is too many places to be, and some of those places are very bad. [...]
Say what you mean, so that you can find out what you mean. Act out what you say, so you can find out what happens. Then pay attention. Note your errors. Articulate them. Strive to correct them. That is how you discover the meaning of your life. That will protect you from the tragedy of your life. How could it be otherwise?
Confront the chaos of Being. Take aim against a sea of troubles. Specify your destination, and chart your course. Admit to what you want. Tell those around you who you are. Narrow, and gaze attentively, and move forward, forthrightly.
Be precise in your speech."
The edition is great, professional, etc.