Jordan Peterson

Jordan Bernt Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist, professor, author, and public intellectual who became one of the most influential and widely discussed thinkers of the 21st century. Born in Edmonton, Alberta in 1962, Peterson grew up in Fairview, a small town in northern Alberta, and went on to earn degrees from the University of Alberta and McGill University before joining the faculty of Harvard University and later the University of Toronto.

Peterson spent decades as a respected but relatively obscure academic, teaching personality psychology and researching the psychology of religious and ideological belief. His first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, published in 1999, synthesized insights from psychology, mythology, religion, and neuroscience into a comprehensive theory of how humans create meaning. It was brilliant but dense and academically focused.

Everything changed in 2016 when Peterson publicly opposed Canada's Bill C-16, which he argued could compel speech regarding gender pronouns. The resulting controversy catapulted him into the international spotlight. His 2018 book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, became a global phenomenon, selling over 10 million copies worldwide and being translated into more than 50 languages. Peterson's lectures, podcast, and public appearances reach tens of millions, and his message — take responsibility, tell the truth, pursue meaning over happiness — has resonated with an enormous audience hungry for substantive guidance on how to live.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Peterson grew up in Fairview, a small town in northern Alberta with a population of about 3,000. His father, Walter, was a schoolteacher, and his mother, Beverley, was a librarian. Peterson was an avid reader from a young age and became interested in political science and psychology during his teenage years. He earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Alberta, followed by a B.A. in psychology, and then completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at McGill University. He joined the faculty at Harvard in 1993 before moving to the University of Toronto in 1998.