Dr. Jordan B. Peterson

This is why there's this dawning insistence, arising insistence in our culture that you shouldn't be able to be offensive in your speech, which sort of means you shouldn't be allowed to upset anyone emotionally.

This is why there's this dawning insistence, arising insistence in our culture that you shouldn't be able to be offensive in your speech, which sort of means you shouldn't be allowed to upset anyone emotionally.

Well, if you're speaking about something that's foundational and you're pointing out an error, that's going to be upsetting to the person you're talking to because it means they're going to have to do a fair bit of cognitive retooling. They're going to have to undergo a partial death and rebirth. Well, that can be terribly painful, but...

Well, if you're speaking about something that's foundational and you're pointing out an error, that's going to be upsetting to the person you're talking to because it means they're going to have to do a fair bit of cognitive retooling. They're going to have to undergo a partial death and rebirth. Well, that can be terribly painful, but...

It's better than actually failing cataclysmically repeatedly in the world. You know, so we substitute death in argumentation for death in actuality. That doesn't mean that death in argumentation is nothing. And because there is an emotional burden and an effort that has to be made, people are resistant to that. I'd rather show that I'm right so that you have to change. Fair enough, but...

It's better than actually failing cataclysmically repeatedly in the world. You know, so we substitute death in argumentation for death in actuality. That doesn't mean that death in argumentation is nothing. And because there is an emotional burden and an effort that has to be made, people are resistant to that. I'd rather show that I'm right so that you have to change. Fair enough, but...

But you might be the one with the problem. I mean, that's a terrible thing to contemplate.

But you might be the one with the problem. I mean, that's a terrible thing to contemplate.

Well, definitely. I mean, you don't want to wield the truth as a weapon more than necessary. You know, and people might say, well, I hurt your feelings, but I was only telling you the truth. It's like...

Well, definitely. I mean, you don't want to wield the truth as a weapon more than necessary. You know, and people might say, well, I hurt your feelings, but I was only telling you the truth. It's like...

You might have been telling the truth at one level of analysis and lying like mad at another, because maybe your motivation was to hurt, and you figured out how to use something that was nominally true as your weapon. And so, at the very narrow level of analysis, semantically, what you said was true, but in the broader context, no, you're just this sadist.

You might have been telling the truth at one level of analysis and lying like mad at another, because maybe your motivation was to hurt, and you figured out how to use something that was nominally true as your weapon. And so, at the very narrow level of analysis, semantically, what you said was true, but in the broader context, no, you're just this sadist.

And so there are technical approaches to that to some degree that are coded in the law. So for example, if you're defending yourself, you're entitled to use something approximating minimal necessary force. And that's a good maxim for communication. You want to deliver a corrective message in the most constrained possible manner. There's ways of doing this. So for example, if you have an employee

And so there are technical approaches to that to some degree that are coded in the law. So for example, if you're defending yourself, you're entitled to use something approximating minimal necessary force. And that's a good maxim for communication. You want to deliver a corrective message in the most constrained possible manner. There's ways of doing this. So for example, if you have an employee

and they've made a mistake, you want to bring up the mistake primarily so it's not repeated. And so one of the ways of buffering that is to bring the person in and to say, look, here's a bunch of things you're doing right. And we don't have a global problem. But in this specific case, here's what you did. This was the consequence and this is what you could have done to do it differently.

and they've made a mistake, you want to bring up the mistake primarily so it's not repeated. And so one of the ways of buffering that is to bring the person in and to say, look, here's a bunch of things you're doing right. And we don't have a global problem. But in this specific case, here's what you did. This was the consequence and this is what you could have done to do it differently.

And then you close it by reiterating the fact that, you know, having said that, I have confidence, for example, that you'll rectify this error and people make mistakes and it... The real issue here is whether you take responsibility for it and rectify it, and then the person can learn without being demolished, without being demoralized. And that's also a very good thing to do to yourself.

And then you close it by reiterating the fact that, you know, having said that, I have confidence, for example, that you'll rectify this error and people make mistakes and it... The real issue here is whether you take responsibility for it and rectify it, and then the person can learn without being demolished, without being demoralized. And that's also a very good thing to do to yourself.

Like if you see that you've made a mistake and you're guilty as hell and tearing yourself apart, you want to approach it with the presumption of innocence. It's like, don't assume you're any more terrible than you have to assume. Okay, then do the analysis and figure out what's the minimal transformation you can make that will suffice.

Like if you see that you've made a mistake and you're guilty as hell and tearing yourself apart, you want to approach it with the presumption of innocence. It's like, don't assume you're any more terrible than you have to assume. Okay, then do the analysis and figure out what's the minimal transformation you can make that will suffice.