Hello,
In this week’s edition, I contrast the benefits of thinking with the plethora of reasons people avoid doing so. The reasons you should think surpass the challenges and difficulties that come alongside it. Then, I talk with actor Adrian Grenier about his rise to stardom and why he walked away after reaching the top. From the archives, I review the philosophical perspective that founds the directive to clean your room.
|
|
Advice
Engage In Thinking
I have spent a lot of time thinking about thinking — about its nature, its relationship to free speech, and its relationship to conflict and disagreement. People will avoid thinking because it is difficult. Thinking is technically complex, demanding, and emotionally challenging. If you already abide by a certain principle, and then you spend time thinking, even in your own imagination, you start to shake the foundation. That exposes you to cognitive entropy which produces anxiety, a theory that has been very well documented in neuroscience literature.
Then there are emotional and social reasons not to question your presuppositions because thinking is emotionally demanding and socially difficult. If you are thinking with someone, which basically means you are exchanging verbal ideas, then there is a possibility of eliciting disagreement which can bring about emotional unpleasantness and possible conflict. Further, if you expose yourself to someone who thinks differently than you, they can challenge your presuppositions, make you anxious, and leave you bereft of hope. There are many reasons people do not think.
So, why should you think? The best answer is implicit in the ideas of Alfred North Whitehead: We learn to think so that we can allow our inappropriate and impractical thoughts to die instead of us. I think this is true from a biological and an evolutionary perspective. Consider a thought not so much as a description of the world but as a fragmented, virtual avatar that you sent out in an exploratory foray to see if it can withstand any trials. If it cannot, then dispense with it. There are some costs to that, but the advantages outweigh them; you do not act out the stupid ideas and die. In order to kill impractical ideas before they make themselves manifest in the world, you must think.
|
|
My tour continues tonight in Charlotte, NC. Father Mike Schmitz will also be my special guest tomorrow, May 7th, in Pittsburgh, PA.
Get your tickets by clicking the button below. I hope to see you there.
|
|
In Jordan’s series “On Marriage,” he discusses the fundamentals of relationships, the critical aspects of marriage, and the beauty that comes from this commitment. Most unique in this series are the personal stories Jordan shares of his and Tammy’s marriage in these three episodes. To watch more content with Jordan, join DailyWire+ for exclusive content not available elsewhere.
|
|
‘There Is No Room For Savages In Our Civilization’: Mosab Hassan Yousef, Son Of Hamas Leader
So what happens to you at 13? Walk me through your life from 13 onward, to the point where you start working with the Israelis. Just walk me through that whole biography.
|
|
An Honest Conversation About Hollywood | Adrian Grenier | EP 445
In this episode, I talk with actor and environmental advocate Adrian Grenier about his early life on the streets of New York City, his eventual rise to stardom, the reality and decline of Hollywood, and why he walked away after reaching the top. Now, he grounds himself through natural practices and the cultivation of his fully sustainable environment-first community.
|
|
|
The Philosophy Behind Cleaning Your Room
Organizing your room can be a part of psychotherapy, depending on how you conceive the limits of your being. The activities you repeat every day (such as brushing your teeth) constitute 50% of your life. They are not mundane; they are the most important. If your emotions and mind are working together and you are acting that out, you can make adjustments and fix what is part of your broader extent.
|
|
Thank you for reading,
Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
|
|
|
|
