Jordan Peterson

Peterson was born on June 12, 1962, in Edmonton, Alberta, and raised in Fairview.⁠[1]

He studied political science at Grande Prairie College and the University of Alberta, then switched to psychology, earning a PhD at McGill University in 1991.⁠[1]

From 1993 to 1997 he taught in Harvard University’s psychology department; in 1997 he returned to Canada as a University of Toronto psychology professor and set up a clinical practice.⁠[1]

In 1999 he published the academic work Maps of Meaning, presenting a theory of religious and political belief; his lectures based on it later became a 13-part TVO series.⁠[2]

In 2016, as federal Bill C-16 proposed bringing gender identity under legal protection, Peterson released a video saying he would not use gender-neutral pronouns he said were invented by “ideologues,” objecting that the law could force people to use such words; the University of Toronto sent him two warning letters.⁠[3]

Fellow University of Toronto physics professor A.W. Peet said he was pushing these opinions on students; at one of his campus talks, protesters broke the sound system.⁠[3]

In May 2017 he testified against C-16 before the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs, saying arguments that biology does not determine gender were “entirely ideologically driven”; he was one of about two dozen witnesses, and about 125 people rallied on Parliament Hill that day in support of the bill.⁠[4]

After hearing 24 witnesses, the committee sent the bill back to the Senate unamended by a 12–3 vote, rejecting an amendment to narrow its scope and a formal observation about compelled speech.⁠[5]

In January 2018 he published the self-help book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, combining ancient wisdom with clinical experience to offer twelve principles for living, such as setting one’s house in order before criticizing others; the publisher says it has sold more than five million copies worldwide.⁠[6]

That month Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman interviewed him for about 30 minutes on the gender pay gap, campus protests and patriarchy; after the broadcast Newman received a wave of misogynistic abuse, and Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear brought in security specialists to analyze the threat. Peterson urged those threatening her to stop, writing “Try to be civilized in your criticism.”⁠[7]

In May 2018 New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles published a long profile of him titled “Custodian of the Patriarchy,” which quoted his remarks about “enforced monogamy” and stirred controversy; his defenders called the piece a “hit job.”⁠[8]

Maclean’s columnist Tabatha Southey criticized his remarks; Peterson replied in a blog post that critics had misread him, that he meant socially promoted, culturally inculcated monogamy, and that critics’ ignorance of the relevant literature was not evidence of totalitarian or misogynist leanings on his part.⁠[9]

In March 2019 the University of Cambridge Faculty of Divinity withdrew a two-month visiting fellowship it had offered him, saying the decision followed a further review of his work; Peterson wrote on his blog that Cambridge had not notified him directly and called the decision “a serious error of judgment.”⁠[10]

A university spokesperson said Cambridge is an inclusive environment and expects all staff and visitors to uphold its principles: “There is no place here for anyone who cannot.” Peterson had planned to talk with religious experts and students during the visit and give a series of public lectures on the Bible.⁠[11]

In April 2019 he debated Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek on “Happiness: Capitalism vs Marxism” at Toronto’s 3,000-seat Sony Centre for the Performing Arts; tickets initially sold for up to US$500, and the last few for US$1,500.⁠[12]

On March 2, 2021, he published Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life, the sequel to 12 Rules for Life, which calls for balancing the two fundamental principles of order and chaos.⁠[13]

In January 2022 he resigned his tenured professorship at the University of Toronto, writing that higher education’s embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion had made him academically persona non grata; philosopher Kate Manne called his claim that white men were not being hired “an outrageous lie,” and Implicit Association Test co-founder Tony Greenwald disputed his description of the test.⁠[14]

In June 2022 The Daily Wire’s subscription service DailyWire+ signed a multiyear deal with him, taking over sales and distribution of The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast and producing exclusive content; his podcast and video library, with more than half a billion downloads and views since 2016, moved to the platform.⁠[15]

On June 28, 2022, Twitter suspended most features of his account over a tweet about actor Elliot Page, requiring him to delete it before the restrictions would be lifted; Peterson called it an “irritated tweet” and said he would rather die than delete it.⁠[16]

On August 19, 2022, he appeared on episode #313 of the Lex FridmanLex FridmanLex Fridman is a Soviet-born, US-raised computer scientist and podcast host who works as an MIT research scientist on human-AI interaction and autonomous driving. His Lex Fridman Podcast is known for hours-long conversations with guests including heads of state and technology leaders.Open the full entry Podcast, discussing Dostoevsky, God, science, death, Elon MuskElon MuskElon Musk is an entrepreneur who founded SpaceX and has long served as chief executive of Tesla; he also took part in creating PayPal, OpenAI, Neuralink, The Boring Company, and xAI. He acquired Twitter in 2022, and his businesses span spaceflight, electric vehicles, energy, artificial intelligence, and social media.Open the full entry, the global crisis, dangerous ideologies, Justin Trudeau, the war in Ukraine and advice for young people.⁠[17]

In November 2022 the College of Psychologists of Ontario, after numerous complaints, ordered him to pay for a coaching program on professionalism in public statements; the complaints concerned online commentary directed at politicians, a plus-sized model and transgender actor Elliot Page, among others, and the complaints committee concluded the statements could amount to professional misconduct, warning that failure to comply could cost him his licence to practise in Ontario.⁠[18]

In 2023 he formed the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship with more than 30 politicians, business leaders and scholars as an alternative to the World Economic Forum; early members included former Australian prime minister John Howard and Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, and he said it would look at ways to balance global development, environmental stewardship and human flourishing.⁠[19]

On August 23, 2023, three judges of Ontario’s Divisional Court unanimously dismissed his application for judicial review; Justice Paul Schabas found the order was not disciplinary and did not prevent him from speaking on controversial topics. Peterson wrote on X: “If you think that you have a right to free speech in Canada You’re delusional.”⁠[20]

In January 2024 the Court of Appeal for Ontario declined to grant him leave to appeal the Divisional Court ruling; Peterson said no legal avenues remained to challenge the college’s decision and that his “war” with the college had barely started.⁠[21]

In June 2024 he said his new online university, Peterson Academy, would launch at the end of the month, filming courses by university professors in a Miami studio, including his own on Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil and the Sermon on the Mount; he cited a target price of about $500 a year and said the academy was not yet accredited but was working on it.⁠[22]

On October 11, 2024, he returned to the Lex Fridman Podcast (episode #448), discussing Nietzsche, power and propaganda, Nazism, religion, communism, the hero myth, belief in God, good and evil, psychopathy and suffering.⁠[23]

On November 19, 2024, he published We Who Wrestle with God, interpreting the cultural and psychological meaning of Biblical stories including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah’s flood, the Tower of Babel, Abraham and Moses.⁠[24]

As of October 2026 his website describes him as an author, psychologist, online educator and Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto; his YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry channel has 7.5 million subscribers, and his two lecture tours covered more than 303 cities with over 850,000 ticketed attendees.⁠[2]

Personal website: Public link: https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[17]

X: Public account: https://x.com/jordanbpeterson (opens in a new window)⁠[23]

YouTube: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JordanBPeterson (opens in a new window)⁠[23]

Harvard University: Official website: https://www.harvard.edu/ (opens in a new window)⁠[6]

University of Toronto: Official website: https://www.utoronto.ca/ (opens in a new window)⁠[14]

Peterson Academy: Official website: https://petersonacademy.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[17]