Perhaps you can explain what Peterson really means when he says that he really believes that the double helix structure of DNA is being depicted in ancient Egyptian and Chinese art.
What does he really means when he says, “Proof itself, of any sort, is impossible, without an axiom (as Godel proved). Thus faith in God is a prerequisite for all proof.”?
Why does he seems to believe in Jung’s paranormal concept of “synchronicity”?
Why does he think quantum mechanics means consciousness creates reality, and confuse the Copenhagen interpretation with Wheeler’s participatory anthropic principle?
Peterson gets many things wrong—not just technically wrong, but deeply wrong, wrong on the level of “ancient aliens built the pyramids”. He’s far to willing to indulge in mysticism, and has a fundamental lack of skepticism or anything approaching appropriate rigor when it comes to certain pet ideas.
He isn’t an intellectual super-heavy weight, he’s Deepak Chopra for people who know how to code. We can do better.
Sorry, but I think that is a lame response. It really, really isn’t just lack of expertise—it’s a matter of Peterson’s abandonment of skepticism and scholarly integrity. I’m sorry, but you don’t need to be a historian to tell that the ancient Egyptians didn’t know about the structure of DNA. You don’t need to be a statistician to know that coincidences don’t disprove scientific materialism. Peterson is a PhD who know the level of due diligence needed to publish in peer reviewed journals from experience. He knows better but did it anyway.
He cares enough to tell his students, explicitly, that he “really does believe” that ancient art depicts DNA—repeatedly! - and put it in public youtube videos with his real name and face.
It’s more like if Eliezer used the “ancient aliens built the pyramids” theory as an example in one of the sequences in a way that made it clear that he really does believe aliens built the pyramids. It’s stupid to believe it in the first place, and it’s stupid to use it as an example.
Then what makes Peterson so special? Why should I pay more attention to him than, say, Deepak Chopra? Or an Islamist Cleric? Or a postmodernist gender studies professor who thinks western science is just a tool of patriarchal oppression? Might they also have messages that are “metaphorically true” even though their words are actually bunk? If Peterson gets the benefit of the doubt when he says stupid things, why shouldn’t everybody else? If uses enough mental gymnastics, almost anything can be made to be “metaphorically true”.
Peterson’s fans are too emotionally invested in him to really consider what he’s saying rationally—akin to religious believers. Yes, he gives his audience motivation and meaning—much in the same way religion does for other demographics- but that can be a very powerful emotional blinder. If you really think that something gives your life meaning and motivation, you’ll overlook its flaws, even when it means weakening your epistemology.
It’s not surprising when religious believers to retreat to the claim that their holy texts are “metaphorically true” when they’re confronted with the evidence that their text is literally false—but it’s embarrassing to see a supposed rationalist do the same when someone criticizes their favorite guru. We’re supposed to know better.