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Jordan Peterson: What Went Wrong?

Alex O'Connor | August 27, 2025



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– VIDEO NOTES

Jordan Peterson recently appeared on @jubilee to debate 25 atheists. On which of his views? Your guess is as good as mine.

– LINKS

Original video: https://youtu.be/Pwk5MPE_6zE?si=MCOFIdjiQS7MYlJI

My video deconstructing Jordan Peterson’s religious views: https://youtu.be/5-yQVlHo4JA?si=SXraJNHbH6sDwVoq

My podcast with Jordan Peterson: https://youtu.be/T0KgLWQn5Ts?si=gnu3lHwoxMa3Gq9q

Me hosting Jordan Peterson vs Richard Dawkins: https://youtu.be/8wBtFNj_o5k?si=j9x2Ii0eohjLg4xk

– TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Peterson vs 25 Atheists
1:54 The Bible is Anti-Slavery
15:37 Peterson’s Definition of “God”
19:54 What Do You Mean, “Believe”?
28:17 Is it Ever Okay to Lie?
36:00 Peterson’s “Many Gods” Problem
44:38 God Commands Violence
59:59 Outro

– CONNECT

My Website: https://www.alexoconnor.com

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The Within Reason Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/within-reason/id1458675168

– CONTACT

Business email: contact@alexoconnor.com

——————————————

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Written by Alex O'Connor

Comments

This post currently has 46 comments.

  3. @raycarter4030

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Into this soup of pseudiness, permit me to just throw out there that there is no principle or belief that I wouldn’t chuck on the bonfire of my own vanity to save the life of either myself or my loved ones.

  5. @elismith195

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    24:49 not sure if you’ll ever see this comment but as a Christian this interested me, because you might be unaware of what Christianity actually says on this matter:

    Hebrews 10:26
    “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins…”

    A point of Christianity is to be redeemed from your sins yes, but another huge point of Christianity is to stop sinning, by walking in the ways of the Spirit. Hope you see this and look into it!

  10. @aaaac9

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    The God JP is talking about is like the divine spark all humans have a share of that Stoics talk of, or Socrates Daimon; or the true Self from Internal Family Systems Therapy.

  12. @goldie-fk6lr

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Petersen is old, grumpy and impatient but is essentially right.
    Alex suffers from the philosopher's disease of being hyper rational.
    Go read Edmund Burke.
    Dont be so keen to trash old beliefs, Alex. Normative behavior prevents everything falling apart.

  13. @MrStarTraveler

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    The idea that slavery was abolished and generaly coming to be considered wrong because people became more enlightened is laughable to me! Technology is the underlying reason for the abolishment of slavery. It has been calculated that modern home aplicances like waching machines, ovens, fridges, dish washers and the like are equal to about 50 people working for you. Let me share chilling thought: If all modern evryday technology magically disappears – slavery will return by the noon. Many of people who naturally think that slavery is wrong, in this new environment – without machines would dream of having slaves. If they don't become slaves themselves.

  14. @peterlowenson5893

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Such a hypocrite. Says he won't lie but lies al the time. "I don't know what you mean by…" is somthing he says all the time and he obviusly knows what the other person means by it. That's the definition of a lie. Pathetic..

  22. @croonermusicfan

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    😂 Peterson assumes that we don’t know our rejection of god. My rejection is a result of people and religion failing to demonstrate evidence of claim that such a god exists. I don’t have the burden of proof is my rejection of the big claim.

  23. @croonermusicfan

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Peterson’s perspective of god is that god is the invisible being that control our consciousness and reasoning, for short he thinks that we don’t get to reason, think, or even our mind without the attachment of god. I think that that even put him in a deeper hole because he would need to give an enormous evidence to demonstrate that a god controls that. It’s absurd.

  24. @croonermusicfan

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Peterson quoted the Bible throughout the debate. That for me defeats the purpose. There was no point of quoting the Bible since the Bible is already having a hard time proving itself, and when someone quotes the Bible, it is actually become circular.

  25. @croonermusicfan

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Yeah, I agree. There’s no point of debating if he’s not going to say his position, like if he’s a Christian or not. It made me laugh at Peterson when I watched that entire debate.

  26. @DakNJaxter

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    For whatever reason, I've fallen down a rabbit hole of watching your dealings with Peterson.

    Maybe I'm behind the curve on this, but it seems to me that the underlying frustration in discussing literalism in the Bible, is that Peterson stresses it's a non-factor, when in actuality, believing the Bible to be literal bolsters the belief in whatever it teaches.

    And while things like slavery are discussed because they're obviously wrong, and they say that's relative and of the time, modern issues like how it teaches that homosexuality is wrong aren't addressed. That's a real tangible thing that's doing harm in our own times.

    And that viewing the Bible as literal contradicts the view that it's a developing text. If it's non literal, then like all stories, we can view it's limitations and accept a degree of fallibility. Where it's dated, where it's values fall short, and where it's not applicable to modern morality. And more importantly, it could be amended, rather than tying itself in knots trying to justify why it was OK, or actually never wrong.

    It's like you can't have it both ways. Either it's a non-literal text that we can pick and choose values from while ignoring others, or it's a literal text that has to accept the scrutiny of it's bad, inconsistent, and sometimes tyrannical morality.

  31. @mr.knewitall2861

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    It was a difficult era back then, if you read the whole context it does pointing slavery is wrong.

    Its like me saying that yes ill allow you to use my honesty this time but i will not listen to you after this because i love you and i want you to know that using people is wrong and i Will not accept your behavior after this.

  34. @doms.6701

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    For his first point, i wish someone said "what definition of god are you saying atheists reject without knowing? A few have defined what we mean when talking about god, but you dismiss those definitions. So it is now up to you to define if this conversation is to move forward. To not do so will be taken as admission of being wrong and your first claim can be called what it is, invalid."

  35. @chengboli1462

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    My impression after seeing that video is that Dr. Peterson knew he was not able to answer some of these questions to “defend” Christianity, so he intentionally or unconsciously dodged them.

  37. @artichoke60045

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    If Peterson would have done everything he could do to avoid being in a situation where he had Jews hiding in his attic, well he could probably not prevent the takeover of the country by Nazis, but he could refuse to hide people in his attic. Is his pursuit of truth and avoidance of the "debt" of lying so great, that it would mean that he would never try to save people from Nazi terrorists because he would have to lie about it? I am not accusing him of this, I just think he didn't think it through in the time limit of that conversation.

  38. @FlorentinaBray

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Tsk, read the Bible more Sir. Ephesians 6:5 & 8 -refers to Bond servants ( they become slaves to pay off debt then=freedom.)
    NEW TESTAMENT: 1 timothy 1:8-11 ( condemned Slavery as a Sin) Philemon 1:8-10 – Paul’s letter to free Onesimus

  39. @silentgrumble

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    hello alex. im going to throw something out there. now a lot of the problems in this is everyone have a different view on those unnessesary powerwords, faith, belief, and everyones personal view of a divine higher power. now belief is the assumption of truth. i belive that there is water in the can, since i trust the person telling me its true, not fact.
    now faith is the commitment to defend the assumption of that truth. which is why in normal conversation quite alot of people say "i put my faith in that". your commiting to defend your your belief= asumption of the truth presented to you at that time. jordan's first claim in itself is worded wrong. if we replaced rejected (a result of an action) to commit( an action). a woman cant reject you before you ask her out. so now the verbage is proper. the claim (athists reject, because they dont understand everything) is a self-defeating claim. an exsample (a doctor wouldnt do heart surgery, if they did not know how to do all of the steps in surgery of the heart. i claim meself as a aethist. for the fact i will not commit to an assumption of truth. like you sir. tyvm for your ability to speak as honestly as you can w/o giving away to much of yourself. love the work.

  40. @bobphillips2188

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Isn't it about time we all say, 'Peterson is an idiot'? He is someone who has made his fame by dissembling just about all the time, about everything. Time to call him out, he is a sham.

  42. @Mahmoudery

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Modern Christianity will always fail to confront the claims stated against the existence of God. This is because the are so many deviations from the original scripture were introduced to the Injeel – other known as the Bible.

    I believe quran is more comprehensive and it is the perfect book to take the defence against your beliefs of aetheism, commanding genocide and th rest of the statment you said in the episode of Surrounded you were hosted on.

  44. @stevendaleschmitt

    August 27, 2025 at 6:56 pm

    Dunning/Kruger level 1: He does not know what he does not know. This is true for all religious beliefs. This is the mystery of God. Anyone claiming to "know God" needs to brush up on their humility. Pride goeth before a fall.

Comments are closed.

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