Matthew McManus and Marion Trejo, "Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson" (Zero Books, 2020)
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Welcome back to the New Books Network. I am your host, Steven Dozeman. In 2016, Jordan Peterson, a relatively obscure professor of psychology, released several videos on YouTube making critical remarks on political correctness and related political legislation. This would kick off a meteoric rise in fame, with sold-out live shows, podcasts, television interviews, and a worldwide best-selling book, along with his Newfound fame, however, came a lot of criticism, much of it from progressive commentators, most recently in the form of Myth and Mayhem, a leftist critique of Jordan Peterson. The book features several contributions from four authors, as well as an introduction by Slavoj Zizek, who debated Peterson in 2019.
It engages with Peterson's core ideas while offering critical analysis. From leftist perspectives. The contributors are as follows. Ben Burgess has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Miami. He is a science fiction writer whose work has appeared in publications such as Tor.com and in Prime Books. Burgess now teaches at Rutgers University and is also the author of Give Them an Argument: Logic for the Left. Conrad Hamilton is a doctoral student at Paris 8 University, currently developing a thesis on the relationship between social agency and the value form in the works of Marx under the supervision of Catherine Malibu. He is a contributor to Zero Books's What is Postmodern Conservatism? Essays on our hugely tremendous times.
Matt McManus is Professor. Of Politics and International Relations at the University of Tech de Monterey, Mexico, where he teaches political science and theory. Before assuming this position, McManus worked for the Committee for International Justice and Accountability and
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–15:02
2
Who is Jordan Peterson and why did he become a cultural phenomenon in 2016?
15:02–20:32
3
What is the purpose and structure of *Myth and Mayhem* and who contributed to it?
20:32–44:20
4
How does Slavoj Žižek frame Peterson’s ideas in his introduction and debate?
44:20–53:32
5
Why do the authors argue that Peterson focuses on symptoms rather than systemic contradictions?
53:32–53:39
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from New Books in Philosophy
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PJ DiPietro, "Sideways Selves Travesti and Jotería, "Struggles Across the Américas" (U Texas Press, 2025)