So I startedworkingontheideasthat I outlinedin 12 Rulesforlife.
Well, a longtimeagoandreallystartedwhen I wasabout 13 I I was a juniorhighschoolstudent, and, um, I metthislibrarianwho's kindofeccentricperson, verywelleducatedperson.
ItIt's a storyaboutthedayof a politicalprisonerin a workcampandbravenewworldand 1984 ananimalfarmand a knRand's books, whichwasquiteinterestingbecauseshewasthewifeofourmemberofparliament, whowastheonlymemberoftheoppositioninourprovince.
Andhewas a socialist, anNDPnewDemocraticPartyleader, as a matteroffact.
AndButdespitethat, shegavemeinRand's booksbecauseshethoughtthat I shouldbeexposedtotheothersideoftheargument.
So I read, Atlasshruggedand, um, theFountainheadand, well, shewasthefirstpersonwhohelpmediscoverliterature, Let's say, andwhileatthesametime I gotinterestedinwhathadhappenedinNaziGermanyand I wroteanessayaboutthatwhen I wasabout 13 or 14 aboutourschwitzandwhathadhappenedthere, and I neverreadthatreallyneverleftmymind, I wouldsay I think I readVictorFrankl's Man's searchformeaningatthatpoint, whichis a book I wouldhighlyrecommend.
I have a readinglistonmywebsite.
Bytheway, atJordan, bePetersondotcom.
Andsothere's a varietyofbookstherethathavereallyinfluencedme, andand I putthemupforotherpeople's useAnyways, I neverwhatwhat I learnedaboutAuschwitzandaboutNaziGermanyneverreallyleftmymindandbecause I couldn't understandhowpeoplecouldactthatway, howtheycouldnotonlybepossessedbyanideologytothedegreethattheGermanswereverycivilizedcountryGermany, youknow.
Soitwas, I suppose, even a morespectacularshockthatsomethingsocatastrophichappenedthere.
Therewasn't justtheideologicalpossession.
Itwasthecrueltyandthegratuitouscrueltyintheserviceofthatideologicalpossessionthat I couldn't understand.
Itdidn't couldn't establish a relationshipbetweenmyownbeingandandthosepatternsofaction.
Andas I gotolder, thatconcerntransformeditselfintoanobsession.
I wouldsaynotsomuchwithwhathadhappenedinNaziGermany, butwith, I think, whathappened, whatwashappeningas a consequenceofthecollectivistphilosophyperse, whichyoumightthinkofsomethingthatmanifesteditselfbothontherightinNaziGermanyandthenontheleftinallthemultitudinousandcatastrophiccommunistregimesthatcharacterizedthebulkofthe 20thcenturyontheirinsane, murderousnous.
Andthatprobablyculminatedformeinthe 19 seventieswhen I readAlexanderSolzhenitsyn's GulagArchipelago, whichisanotherbookthateveryoneshouldreadbecauseinsomesenseitmightbethedefiningdocumentofthe 20thcentury.
ThefactthateveryoneintheWestisn't familiarwiththatbookisactually a a signalofourcatastrophicmoralfailing.
I wouldsay, Um, I startedwritingthisbookcalledMapsofMeaninginabout 1985 although I hadbeenworkingonvariantsofitbeforethat, andwhat I wastryingtounderstandwasmaybethepsychologicalmotivationsfortheColdWar, somethinglikethat.
WejustwentandvisitedthehouseininReykjavik, wheregarbageKevinReaganmet, whichwasquitesomethingtoseewhentheydecidedtheyweregoingtobringatleastsomeoftheinsanityto a relativehalt.
ThankGodtheeightieswere a verycontentioustime.
Youknow, theColdWar I sortofpeekedintotwotimes.
Itpeakedin 1962 duringtheCubanmissilecrisis.
I don't knowifyouknowthis, but I visited a nuclearmissilesiteininArizona 10 yearsago.
Itwas a decommissionedmissilesite.
Intercontinentalballisticmissile.
Intercontinentalballisticmissilehasverylargerocketsandcangohalfwayaroundtheworldanditsballistic, whichmeansithasthesamefunctionas a bullet.
Soandwecamecloseagainin 1984 when I don't knowifyouknowthis.
ButtheSovietmissiledetectionsystemsignaledthelaunchof 45 missilesfromNorthAmerica, and a singleRussiansoldierdecidedthatitwas a falsealarmandrefusedtopushthebuttonwouldhaveresultedinmajorretaliation.
Hejustdiedabout a yearago.
YoucanreadabouthimonWikipediaanyways.
I readSoldierNixonin 19 seventiesandandthatmadememe, even, I wouldsay, moreobsessedwithwhatwashappeningininontheworldstage.
I wastryingtounderstandwhyitwasthatthesystemsofbeliefthatweinhabited, let's sayone, typifyingtheSovietUnionandandsimilarstatesMaoist, China, NorthKorea, wonderfulplaceslikethatversustheWest.
It's notlikewedon't haveanynow, butitwasreallysomeinsanityinthe 19 eighties, andpeopleseemtohave a veryitchytriggerfinger.
So I wasveryconfusedaboutthisintwoways.
Onefrom a psychologicalperspective.
Becausebythattime, I didstudy, decidedtostudypsychologyinsteadofpoliticalscience, whichismyoriginalmajor.
I get I gotdisenchantedwithpoliticalsciencebecause I didn't believethatpeoplewerefundamentallymotivatedbyeconomicissues.
I stilldon't believethatthat's true.
They'remotivatedbywhateverthey'remotivatedby.
Itcan't becapturedbyeconomics.
Notnotprecisely.
It's verycuriousaboutwhatitwasthatwassoimportantabout a beliefsystemthatpeoplewouldriskputtingtheentireplanettothetorchtoensurethattheirparticularmotiveconstruingtheworldprevailedisinterestingpsychologicalproblem.
No, becauseyoumightsaythepostmodernistsdosaythere's a verylargenumberofwaysofinterpretingtheworld, anditisn't obvioushowyoudeterminewhichofthosewaysarecorrect.
Andthen, as a consequenceofyourinabilitytodetermineifanyofthemarecorrect, thenyouhavetoturntosomethinglikepowerdisputetoestablishwhichinterpretationisgoingtotakeprecedence, I wouldsayin a nutshell, that's a postmodernisttheorynowthat's taintedtosomedegreewithMarxistpreconceptions, butwewon't getintothat.
Butthat's basicallytheidea.
It's anideawith a certainamountofjustification.
Thereis a verylargenumberofwaysofinterpretingtheworld, anditisn't obviouswhichwayorwaysarerightorwhythey'reright.
Soit's a complicatedproblem.
Andso I wascuriousislike, Wasthismerely a differenceofopinion?
TheWesthad a certainsetofaxiomsthatitwasactingoutintheworld.
AndthereSovietBlockandtherestofthecommunistcountrieshaveanothersetofaxioms, andtheywerebotharbitraryanditwas a matterofpower.
Andbecause I alwaysbelievedthatifyouunderstoodtheproblemthatyoucouldsolveit, infactthatifyes, ifwhenyouanalyzetheproblem, a solutiondidn't emergefromtheanalysisthanyouactuallydidn't understandtheproblem.
Andso I thoughtif I delvedintotheproblemdeeplyenough, thenmaybe I couldfigureoutwhatmightconstitute a solution.
Assumingtherewassuch a thingbecause I couldn't.
I knewafterwriting a fairbitofitthatwewerethattherewas a realproblembecauseyoucangetbeliefsystemsthatarelockedincombat.
Butthen I alsoknew, andthiswasprobablymorefromreadingNietzschethananythingelsethatifyourbeliefsystemcollapses, youmightsay, Well, I don't wanttofightwithyouaboutwhosebeliefsystemiscorrect.
I couldn't seethattherewasanythingelseotherthanthosetwoalternatives.
Andsothat's what I triedtolayoutininthisbook.
Mapsofmeaning.
Mostofthethoughtsthat I expressedin 12 RulesforLife, notallofthemandinthelecturesthat I'vedonethathavebecomepopularonYouTubewerealldevelopedduringthe 15 yearperiodthat I workedonthatbookand I workedonit.
I wouldsayobsessively, really.
I wroteaboutthreehours a day, and I thoughtaboutitforprettymuch 12 otherhours, andso I wasthinkingconstantlyhewas.
It's notobviouswhy, butwhile I toldyouwhy, forsomereasonallthatmanifesteditselftomeas a cardinalproblem.
But I concludedandtriedtolayouttherationalforthis, thatthefightbetweenthesetwobeliefsystems.
Itwasindividualist, andthecentralideaoftheWestwasthatalthoughpeopleareobviouslyobviouslyaggregateintogroupsandmanydifferentgroups, becauseallofyouaremembersofveryofmanydifferentgroupsethnicities, genders, sexes, races, familygroups, communitygroups, youcouldbegrouped a verylargenumberofways, andandyoutendtowardstheadoptionofsomethingapproximating a groupidentitybecause, youknow, youtakecareofyourfamilyandyou're a memberofyourcommunityandyouhave a certainamountofjustifiablepatriotisminrelationshiptoyourstategroup.
Andthecollectivistdefinitionisthatyouaretheavatarof a collective, andthat's fundamentallywhoyouare.
ButtheWesternperspectiveisnotthattheWesternperspectiveisthatdespitethefactthatpeoplehaveanindividualleveland a collectivelevel, theindividuallevelistoberegardedasparamount.
Wethinkaboutthetraditionofindividualrights, andthere's a problemwiththat, becausethefundamentalindividualtraditionoftheWestisnot.
Individualrightsandrightshave a problemwrites, aresortoflikeyourprivilegecomparedtootherpeople.
I havetheserightsanddon't treadonthem.
ThatthatWall's meoffmakesbeprivilegedinsome, sinceitmeansthat I havetherighttodothings, havetherighttopursuemyowninterests.
I havetherighttopursuehappiness, forexample, that's explicitlylaidoutintheAmericansystem, therightsorwhatisspecialaboutme, andsowhenyoulookatindividualityorindividualismfromthatperspective, youcanthinkaboutitas a selfishidea.
Thatmightbe a wayofthinkingaboutit, andtheleastbadapproachyoucanmanageistoshoulderyourresponsibilityasanindividual.
Andthat's the.
And I wouldsaythatoneofthethingsthatdrivesthecollectivistethos, whichisoftenformulatedintermsofcompassionfortheoppressed, whichissomethingwe'lltalkabout a littlebitlater, isactually a deepdesiretoatallcostsavoidthatresponsibility.
It's a placeinwhicheachofusisbrokenandit's contaminatedbytheeverpresentrealityofbetrayalandmalevolenceandtoshouldertheresponsibilityfirstforevenadmittingtothat.
Andsecond, forassumingthatyouaredutybound, let's saytodosomethingaboutthatwell, that's a taskthatanyonewhohashisorhereyesopenshouldbeleeryofaccepting.
And I wouldsay, Well, perhapsthere's nocrediblereasonforacceptingit, exceptthateveryotheralternativeisworse, andsothat's a brutalfact.
Thatand I made a lotoflecturesaboutthatbook, manyofwhichareonYouTube, someofwhichhavebecomewidelyviewed, I wouldsay, byhundredsofthousandsofpeoplenow.
Andsothat's andthatcoursealwayshad a dramaticeffectonmystudentsandtheirmosttypicalcomment.
There's twoclassesoftypicalcommentsthat I gotfromstudentsaboutmymapsofmeaningcourses, andit's thesamecommentsthat I getfrompeoplenowwhentheycomeandtalktomeaboutmylectures.
Andsoandthat's finebecausethatwasthatwasactuallyanexplicitpurposeofthewritingandthecourse, andthesecondisthatithelpedpeoplestraightenouttheirlivesandThat's alsonotthatsurprisingtome, because a lotofwhat I integratedintothatbookandthelecturesandthenthelecturesthatwerealsoassociatedwithmypersonalitycoursewereideasfromthegreatclinicalpsychologistsandpsychiatristsofthe 20thcentury.
Therewas a dozenofthemorsoormaybe 20 whowerealloutstandinggeniusesofslightlydifferenttypeswholearnedallsortsofthingsabouthowpeoplecouldputthemselvesitselftogetherproperlyasindividuals.
That's notsurprisingbecausetheysitatthecoreof a Nentiredomainofscienceandart, Let's say, devotedtoimprovingpeople's individuallives, I wovetheresponsibilityideainto 12 rulesbecausethat's reallywhatitis.
Insomesense, it's a calltothevoluntaryadoptionofmaximalindividualresponsibility, andit's a psychologicalwork, not a politicalwork.
Now I thinkthereasonthatit's attractedsomuchpoliticalattention, let's saysomeofwhichgoodlongerreferredtointheintroductionis, well, there's tworeasonsoneisbecause I tookwhatmightberegardedas a politicalstanceaboutCemcompelledspeechlegislationinCanada.
I neverregardedthatas a politicalmovebecause I regardedthelegislationitselfassomethingthatwasn't a politicalmove.
I regardeditasanattemptbythepoliticianstojumpoutsidetheirdomainofacceptableconductintothephilosophicaloreventhetheologicalrealm.
Becauseyoudon't messwiththeideaoffreespeechin a Westerncountry.
Andthere's verysophisticatedreasonsforthat.
Anditdoesn't matterwhatyourreasonsfordoingitare.
Youdon't gothere.
Andsobutithappenedtobethemoreradicalleftiststhatwe'repushingthisforward, andbecause I objectedtoit, thenitwasintheirinteresttoassumethat I mustbetheworstsortofrightwing, um, diehard, I suppose, becauseotherwisethey'd havetocontendwithmyactualarguments.
Andsotheotherreasonthat I detestlet's saythecollectivistviewpointisbecause I seethatitleadsnowherebuttoconflict, becauseifpeoplecannotspeakasindividualsbetweengroups, thenalltheycandoissubmitorfight.
Butcomparedtothecontentiousnessofnottalkingoverthedifferences, it's a walkinthepark.
Youknow, I sawsomethingquiteremarkablewhen I wasinLondon a monthand 1/2 ago.
I wasonthispoliticalshowandoneofthethingstheydidinthissectionthatdidn't haveanythingtodowithmewastoshow a bunchofclipsfromthethetheThere's a QuestionperiodthattheBritishhaveevolvedwheretheoppositionCongaroh, aftertheprimeministerandthewomanthatwasappearingwithmeontheshow, hadwritten a bookaboutthatcalledPunchandJudy, if I remembercorrectly.
Andtheyshowed a bunchofclipsofEnglishMPsattackingtheprimeministerandtheprimeminister's responseallthewayfromThatcherforwardwasabsolutelyviciousinthewaythatwelleducatedBritishpeoplecouldbevicious, whichisveryimpressiveformofviciousnessandwasnoholdsbarredverbalcombat.
Butthewayyoupreparetoactisbythinkingandreallywhatyou'redoingwhenyou'rethinkingit's a philosophernamedAlfredNorthWhitehead, whosaidsomethingveryintelligentaboutthinking.
Hesaidthatthereasonwethinkit's sothatourthoughtscandieinsteadofusright, andit's a Darwinianidea.
It's likeThat's it's thinkingisanoffensiveact, whichiswhytyrantshateit, right, Becauseoneoftherulesandtyrannyis I don't thinkwhy, because I alreadyknowalltheanswersandyou'resupposedtoacceptmyanswer, saysthetyrant.
Abouttwomonthsago, thiswasreportedintheNewYorkTimes, whichisnot a newspaper.
I wouldsaythatwouldbeintrinsicallybiasedagainstVenezuelasaidthatitwasnowillegaltodiagnosethecauseof a child's deathin a VenezuelanhospitalasstarvationbecausetheVenezuelansVenezuelangovernment's answertotheproblemofChildrenstarvingwastomakeitillegaltonoticeitinhospitals.
Andthat's a tyrannyright?
That's a placewherethoughtisnotallowed.
That's a placewherefreespeechisnotallowed.
Soitseemstomethatthat's not a goodplacetogotosaytheleast, andwe'vegonetheremanytimesinthelast 150 years, andweshouldperhapsthinkveryhardaboutwhetherornotweeverwanttogothereagain.
Thefirstrulein 12 rulesforlifeisstandupstraightwithyourshouldersbackand I wanttotellyou a littlebitabouttheworldinwhichthatruleappliesandit's ourworld.
Anyways, I wanttotellyouabouttheworldofTheLionKingnowoneofthethings I wantyoutonoticeisthatwhenyougoseethatmovieorwhenyoushowittoyourkidswhenyouwatchitathome, I don't carewhatyoufallintoit.
Andthat's verystrangebecausefirstofall, it's not a world.
Andthatmeansthatwhichis a verystrangething, whichitmeansthatthemannerinwhichthecharactersairrepresentedandtheworldthattheyinhabitissomehowfamiliartoyou.
Andsoit's thisstructurethatrisesupabovetheplane, andit's shapedlikethemountain, essentially, althoughit's not, it's just a rock, butit's it's a highplace.
It's a placethatyoucanthatyoucanvieweverythingfromright.
Soit's a placethatit's a placefromwhichyoucangetanoverview.
It's a placefromwhichyoucanseeand, uh, you'reintroducedtotheking's littlebird, whosename I don't rememberatthemoment.
Andhe's theeyesoftheking.
Andsothekingisobviouslysomethingthathaseyesbecausehehas a birdinthebird, canflyaroundfromupaboveandseeeverythinginreporttohim.
Andthere's a universaltruthinthat, whichiswhytheanimatorsworkedashardastheydidtomakethatsceneandwhyitopenswhatwasoneofthemostspectacularlysuccessfulmoviesofalltime.
I thinkinoursocietythoseair, mostlyhierarchiesofcompetence, wayinhabithierarchicalstructureson a planethat's defined, definedbyourunderstanding, surroundedbywhatwedonotcomprehend.
Andthat's theuniversalhumanworld.
Andthathierarchyitselfis a cooperativestructurethatenablesustolivewith a certainamountofpeaceandproductiveitytogether, andalsotoestablish a valuesystemwithwhateveristhatthepinnacleofthehierarchyregardedaswhatever's mostvaluable.
Everythingyoudothatyouthinkisgoodintheproductivesenseisactuallydoingnothingbutcontributingtothiscatastrophic, tyrannicalpatriarchyverydemoralizing, butalsoopensthedoorforyoutobe a CZ, uselessasyoupossiblycan, becauseandthere's always a temptationinthatdirectionbecauseit's easierandyoucanjustifyitbysaying, Well, if I didanythingproductive, allwewouldbedoingisfurtheringthedominanceofthecorruptsystemanyways.
Thewiseoldbaboon, whowassupposedtobe a foolintheearlydraftsofthemovie, guideshimdownundergroundsothathecanreflectuponhimself, whichiswhathedoesin a pooldownintheunderworldandwhatheseesreflectedinhisownface.