A Conversation with Jordan Peterson

Caleb Stepp

Uploaded on Mar 5, 2018

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The Content of the Conversation.

This, is a conversation. Neither debate nor interview, but a sharing of thoughts, histories, and questions. This meeting of time and ideas, does *not* include a dissection of Cathy Newman, critiques of popular political ideologies, or a narrowing down of what “God” Jordan Peterson believes in.

Rather, it is an exploration (listed here in no particular order) of paradox and dualism; a detailing of the difference between natural order and created order; a musing on the type of disruption brought about by the likes of Jesus; a journey from law and structure to chaos, or “a mode of being”; a theorizing of the meaning of paradise; and a nod towards Peterson’s consideration of truth in his talk with Sam Harris; all, with a smattering of comments that could become their own rabbit trails and inferences for perhaps, a more contemplative day. 

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Chronicling the Conversation.

Please forgive the video quality if you find it poor-it was filmed simply, on my iPhone; as for audio, I found that as long as the volume is turned up, the voices come through in a pretty clear manner. There has been no editing of this conversation and you’ll find evidence of that during one moment where the phone actually falls to the ground as I hurriedly assign myself the task of setting it back up.

All things considered, I’m grateful for the conversational tone, the flow (as I found it to move rather fluidly) and the experience of being witness to the meeting of these two minds as they delve into the recesses of their hearts.

It left me wanting more; it left my dad wanting more; and hopefully it will leave you wanting more; in the end, I think that’s the best outcome one could ask for, given such an opportunity.

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The Story Behind the Conversation.

The idea for a chance to speak with Dr. Jordan Peterson was nothing more than a fantasy, briefly mentioned between my father and I, following multiple video viewings of Dr. Peterson’s lectures.

We thought we were tracking his underlying framework but had points of clarification that called for deliberation in the midst of our own adventure of unraveling.

That is when I was struck with the idea of how cool it would be to set up a talk with Peterson as a gift for my dad.

At first, I attempted to get ahold of the doctor through email accounts and the proverbial middleman but found these areas to be, not just shots into the dark but into the proverbial void-that is, going absolutely nowhere.

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon his Patreon page (discovering that for a specific pledge, the reward of a 1 time conversation would be given) that I felt the hope of possibility.

I immediately pledged and found myself waiting for 2-3 months, only to be given a notice that this particular pledge and reward were being permanently discontinued due to Dr. Peterson being far busier than when he had created the Patreon page a year or two back.

Naturally my heart sunk-but was soon resurrected by an email from Dr. Peterson’s wife stating that the pledges made before a certain date would still be honored with the attached reward, and I happened to have been within that narrow window of a timeline. Immediately following I set a date and this video holds the fortuitous results.