A review by seventh
Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson by Marion Trejo, Matthew McManus, Conrad Hamilton, Ben Burgis
4.0
Myth and Mayhem is in many ways an excellent book. It's authors go to great lengths to not only refute Peterson but also provide a counter-narrative. Throughout the book, the authors argue against different parts of Peterson's world-view and arguments and show them to be lacking.
Fans of Peterson's work would struggle to convincingly argue that the authors are arguing in bad faith or attacking strawmen. In fact, the book takes great pains to credit Peterson where he is correct and even criticises others who have unfairly criticised Peterson or focused on irrelevant aspects. Often when criticism is levelled at Peterson his supporters will counter by saying his detractors clearly haven't read enough of his work - this criticism certainly does not apply to Myth and Mayhem which begins (after a lengthy foreword by Slavoj Žižek) by going through Peterson's background and previous work in almost forensic detail.
With the books singular focus on refuting Jordan Peterson, it certainly does not set out to be a best-seller, however, if I were to mention only one criticism it would be that some of the arguments and language flew a little over my head - which left some sections hard to fully comprehend. If the goal of the book was to reach a similar audience as Peterson I'd say this issue is a hindrance. That said if the book is aimed at a more academic audience - or at least one better read in leftist theory than I - then I'd say it's perfectly pitched and provides a powerful and detailed critique of both Peterson's more academic and popular book.
Fans of Peterson's work would struggle to convincingly argue that the authors are arguing in bad faith or attacking strawmen. In fact, the book takes great pains to credit Peterson where he is correct and even criticises others who have unfairly criticised Peterson or focused on irrelevant aspects. Often when criticism is levelled at Peterson his supporters will counter by saying his detractors clearly haven't read enough of his work - this criticism certainly does not apply to Myth and Mayhem which begins (after a lengthy foreword by Slavoj Žižek) by going through Peterson's background and previous work in almost forensic detail.
With the books singular focus on refuting Jordan Peterson, it certainly does not set out to be a best-seller, however, if I were to mention only one criticism it would be that some of the arguments and language flew a little over my head - which left some sections hard to fully comprehend. If the goal of the book was to reach a similar audience as Peterson I'd say this issue is a hindrance. That said if the book is aimed at a more academic audience - or at least one better read in leftist theory than I - then I'd say it's perfectly pitched and provides a powerful and detailed critique of both Peterson's more academic and popular book.