February 5th 2024 | Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
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Hello,

In this week’s edition, I explain how to approach each morning so that the day ahead is purposeful. Then, Ben Shapiro joins me to discuss postmodernism, religion, ideals, and society at large. From the archives, I look back on a portion of my conversation with comedian Matt Rife about the making of his career and the reality of creativity. 

Advice

Transform The Possibility Of The Day

You are not a clockwork machine. You are a visionary. To understand that, you have to reconfigure how you think about the world because you presumably think like scientific materialists, at least in part. Though few people think scientifically in a very thorough manner, the basic manner of your thought is likely scientific rather than natural. This means you think you react to the objects in the world in a deterministic way — and none of that is true. You do not see “objects” that are objective; you see patterns that are functional, and they do not determine your action because you are not a clockwork machine driven by stimulus. 

Imagine you are watching a play at a theater, and the stage is set with props. Then the actors come on and say their lines. If you said the props caused that, that would not be even vaguely true. Furthermore, the props in the play are not objects either. They are facilitators of the symbolic message of the play, and I think that is the case with the “objects” in the actual world. They are not objects; they are facilitators of the symbolic meaning of the play. 

In the same way, you confront the possibility of the day each morning. The possibility of the day makes itself manifest to you, and it presents itself as a problem. You, then, must ask, “How will I interact with what’s transforming in front of me in a manner that will bring about the desired end?” If you are bad at that, you are just impulsive and more hedonistic and immature in your visionary orientation. But if you are sophisticated, you integrate the possibility that makes itself manifest to you with higher-order vision. Then, you grapple and wrestle with the emergent possibility to realize it. By doing so, you participate in the creation of the world. 

I’m excited to announce my "We Who Wrestle with God" tour. I’ll be traveling all across the U.S. in the first half of 2024. I’m going to be discussing some of the ideas I’ve been working through in my forthcoming book. Tickets are now available. Click below to find out more information and purchase tickets.

To carry out your purpose, you must confront what is blocking your way to discovering what your purpose is. Join Dr. Jordan B. Peterson as he teaches on how to become a man in "Dragons, Monsters, and Men." In it, you will hear from Jordan as he outlines how to do that and slay the dragons in your way. This four-part series focuses on the pursuit of greatness. To see more content with Jordan, join DailyWire+ for exclusive content unavailable anywhere else. 

Socrates And The Discipline Of Listening To Your Internal Voice

Socrates was tried by the Athenians for failing to worship their gods and corrupting the youth of Athens by teaching them and asking them questions, which is a great way to corrupt people. He knew the trial was coming because Athens was not a very big place. Everybody knew who the powerful guys were. Everybody, including Socrates, knew that the trial was a warning to get out of town. Socrates could leave in order not to be tried and put to death — and he decided that he was not going to do that. He also decided that he was not going to even think about his defense. And he asked, why? This is quite an interesting thing: He asked, why? 

Hedonism, Taboos, Society, And Deprivation | EP 418

In this episode, I speak with best-selling author, commentator, rapper, and co-founder of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro. We discuss the postmodern twisting of religious conceptions, the proclivity for hedonism to propagate at the edges of shared ideals, the danger of a society which has no shared ideals, the necessity of deprivation, and the case for a transcendent narrative in regards to long-term societal benefits.