The Elderly, Ill and Poor
Hi Dr. Peterson, Thank you for having such a positive influence on the world, and thank you especially for your positive influence on my life. My question with a little preamble follows: As much as society raises certain exceptional people to great heights where they can be admired by all, it crushes many more into positions of low-status. Living a life generally low in the social hierarchy for any length of time can be devastating to a person. Any combination of health problems, tragedies, maliciousness and personal faults can quite easily bring a person down the socioeconomic hierarchy and often the lower you go the less potential other people see in you, and the less opportunities you have. You speak of the great well of potential in every individual, that there is virtually no imaginable limit to the effect that an individual can have on humanity simply through incremental self-improvement. But society values some people so little that they could be likened to rats in a B.F. Skinner experiment. It costs a certain amount to live in western society, if your income isn’t sufficient to meet this amount you are additionally taxed in dignity and self-respect. So I have to ask several related questions: to what extent is society responsible for supporting the poor and alienated? If each human is a well of potential, why do some of us live like dogs? And why is the lack of power viewed with such contempt by society? An example of this contempt is the lack of support for the elderly, ill, and poor of society. . Thank you.
Thoughts on, Alan Watts philosophies > reading list > audiobooks?
Hey professor P, Just finished this months Q&A and already looking forward to April. Each question answered, had a pearl for me. But more specifically, the last. I find the interpretations to "The divine" or what ever terminology one likes, to be the most grounding for me (Tammy too, btw. There must be something hereditary in ones family religion as I was raised Catholic, but became "disillusioned"). Maybe because 12 rules for life, literally got me through the hardest period of my life, and I came out a more rounded individual because of it. So thank you for that AND I do not like hearing you say "If I am still around" (NONE OF THAT JORDAN! I will slap you). But WW3 is a scary potential atm. I find Alan Watts philosophies helpful, but not quite what I have experienced. Of course each person will have a different perspective, but I am interested on your thoughts of him? I find Sam Harries to be the modern day Watts, and its crucial to have both Sam and yourself to nut out these problems. Hopefully together more in the future, as the two of you together is magic for me as its like the two voices in my head battling it out. Logic and reason. As I have experienced things that logic cannot explain, at least not yet. I plan on getting through the massive list of books you suggested. I am interested on your thoughts of listening to them as audio books? As I can get through an audio book, and consume the content in real time. However, when reading I constantly need to retrace my steps and re-read to absorb. I am good at engaging with the content I have listened too, when an opportunity presents. Although, I know reading the content will strengthen my literacy. I like to compare it to (I think, I forget now) The Little King, unlearned or unlearnt.. Im pretty sure he was French. Doesn't matter, but fun for context. Either way, school was an escape from my home life. So I am catching up so to speak. Is it fine to listen to the content, then actively engage with it in my own writing? Maybe just use the books for reference? Or should I persevere at a slower pace? As you said it's a life long commitment, so Ive got time. But I want to give back, let's say impatiently lol. I am turning 30 in July, tossing up to finish my masters of Ed, and then do a post grad in psych and then honours (25% through, 1.25yr approx) or just whip out now transition to psych. My Mum has recently passed, and her retirement savings have placed me in the position where I can be fussy, however I do not want to squander all her life's hard work. I am just trying to make the most sensible decision now, as I am in a situation now, incredibly painful, but also liberating me with an abundance of choice. Take care JP, and stop being so hard on yourself! Brother, you got me through 5 years of (mums) chemo with a single book. Thats priceless.. Take a step back, reflect. You're wearing some pretty big shoes, but you earned them xx.
Can Tech warp our instinct for meaning?
You've said (approximately) that lies warp the underlying mechanisms of meaning so that it is no longer a reliable guide in life. This is why telling the truth is important. What if tech (addictive social media algorithms) also warp the mechanisms of meaning? Or more generally, isn't that the purpose of advertising? How can one filter out the noise and get to meaning amidst a cacophony of political propaganda and commercial advertising?