12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Food for thought

I'm gonna lead with the only thing I didn't like: the references to the bible and interpretation of Christianity were a little too long and in-depth sometimes. Too deep into the philosophical for my liking. Otherwise, I like hearing the author talk anyway (listened to the audio book), so this was nice. Peterson had some unmasked honest words for all of us who believe to be a victim of their external circumstances. So I would advise against reading this book if you're not willing to be honest with yourself and make some changes to better yourself. Very inspiring, honest and eye-opening.

Das Buch befriedigt das Bedürfnis nach Halt durch naturalistische und mythologische Begründungen: Der Autor fundiert seine Argumente stets mit bio-psychologischen oder mythologischen Prämissen. Es werden also entweder psychologische und evolutionsgenetische Befunde genannt, oder die "Bibel" bzw. andere "archetypische", mythologische Schriften. Dies hat zuweilen etwas Erfrischendes. Endlich mal weg von dem weichgespülten Ratgeberzeug. Aber letztlich wirkte es dann doch arg gezwungen "episch" und pseudo-tiefsinnig: Das ständige Beharren auf die "Gefahr des schrecklichen Chaos" und das wir es bändigen müssen... Insgesamt wirken die zwölf Regeln sehr willkürlich und alles ist unsystematisch und unstrukturiert. Die Regeln sind nur Anlass für spontane Gedankenausflüge des Autors. Die fehlende Offenlegung der letzten Prämissen (die man somit selbst heraus kristallisieren muss) wird nur überdeckt durch den gezwungen-epischen Tonfall des Buches, der als Glasur über allem liegt. Es ist also schön mal etwas anderes als den üblichen Konstruktivismus zu hören. Letztlich ist das Buch aber kein Ausbruch aus dem bürgerlichen Zeitgeschehen, sondern eine bürgerlich-konservative Rückkehr zu den alten Dingen, die Halt geben: Bibel, Christentum, Mythologie. Der Naturalismus ist dann das moderne, wissenschaftliche Äquivalent dazu – die "Rückkehr zur Natur". Die Geisteshaltung ist letztlich eine liberal-konservative: Es darf wieder Mann und Frau als primäre Kategorien geben, außerdem die Kernfamilie und die Religion. Der Mensch kann wieder durch die Natur geprägt sein, Wettbewerb ist gut, Kinder brauchen Grenzen (gegen den Hang zum Antiautoritären) etc... Alles irgendwie am Leitfaden der Unterscheidung von Ordnung und Chaos - nicht wirklich hinreichend begründet, sondern, wie gesagt, rhetorisch überdeckt. Es könnte sich lohnen das Buch genauer zu analysieren, um zu sehen, was es über den Zeitgeist und die Bedürftigkeit der Menschen aussagt. Aber den Zeitaufwand ist mir das dann doch nicht wert.

Eher Persönlichkeitsethik als Charakterethik

Chaos is an essential part of Life. Life needs chaos to provide order. Therefore, order can't exist without chaos. But how do we maintain the balance between them? What to do if chaos gains the upper hand? What to do if a tragedy is eating up our souls and energy? How do we become a person with a well-balanced mind, a strong person, an impressive and proud person? Someone to look up to? Life means suffering. I'm pretty sure we all know that. But what we don't know is how to cope with the unbearable pain that comes with our existence in a shifting society. Our comprehension of our history, the definition of Being, imaginations of a happy life; the way people think about the past, presence and future changed immensely. You will suffer. But good news: you're not alone. We all suffer. We all have to deal with the consequences of our own or other people's actions. But that does not mean that we must strive for complete perfection to become a valuable person or change other people's attitude/personality to keep order in our life. And that's the key message of Peterson's book: keep order to your life. YOUR life. Become the person you want to be. Be grateful for your and your ancestors' past, appreciate the present and aim for an even better future, not only for yourself but also for your loved ones. Don't try to change other people unless you stabilised your own life. You can't give (good) advise with a broken mind. Don't try to control other people, they are not your responsibility. Speak with your own words. Speak your truth. Express your thoughts and ideas. Express yourself. Don't tell lies. I've never read a 'self-help'/ psychology book before, although I admit that I've been interested in philosophy since my childhood. But when you have no one to talk to about it, you silence the demanding voice in your head and focus on a range of 'easygoing' and distracting books... Peterson is a remarkable person. I never expected to enjoy the mixture of psychology, philosophy, mythology, religion and criticism of modern society. All in one book. All written by one person, a clinical psychologist, who seemingly understands how people work. His yearlong experience helps to illustrate his conclusions. His language is precise, his words thoughtfully chosen. Yet, I'd claim that an empathetic reader can comprehend the change within his tone and his motives to do so much better than a 'normal' reader. I'm sure this book will piss off so many SJWs and feminists. It already did. And I don't know why. Maybe because I question certain behaviour. Maybe because I don't bend, shift and adjust my character to impress my environment. Maybe because I know I have a choice in how to live my life and create my future. Peterson does not offend other people, he doesn't not demand. All he does is grabbing your hand, lifting you up and helping you to find the right path in life to become proud of yourself. Yes, that includes a lot of Christian and ancient wisdom. But what's wrong with that? Western society is based on Christianity. You don't have to be a Christian or a believer in general to understand the symbology. (Peterson explains his interpretations pretty good and reasonable.) You don't even have to agree with him. You can skip whole chapters. You can close the book, thinking 'What an incredibly huge bunch of shit!'. Or you find useful advice in it.

Durchaus interessante Rules for Life. Aber teilweise zu viel Geschwafel und Abschweifungen und am Ende zu religiös/bibellastig

I really did enjoy some of this, however, it was unnecessarily long and filled with personal stories that did not really need to be there to prove the point. The basic concept of the book is good, though and it gave me a lot of input to think about and consider. So my advice was to read it, but to read a summary of some sort. It‘s valuable but simply too long and rambly.

Some anecdote bothered me other than that I recommend it to any one

*DNF

Waste of time. Most used Quote of the author: Life is suffering. I say reading this book is suffering.