12 Rules For Life an Antidote to the Chaos

Jordan Peterson's latest novel entitled 12 Rules For Life An Antidote to the Chaos gives readers 12 rules or more seemingly tips that you could use to enhance your place within society or completely change the mentality you have when it comes to dealing with life's problems. My favorite idea by Jordan Peterson is his sixth rule," Set Your House in Perfect Order Before You Criticize the World"(Peterson 147.) Within this chapter, Peterson discusses the value of human existence and quotes Leo Tolstoy when Peterson explains Tolstoy's paths to escape the meaninglessness of life, explains the 4th path the only true method of escape, quotes Tolstoy saying, "It consists of destroying life, once one has realized that life is evil and meaningless. Only unusually strong and logically consistent people act in this manner. Having realized all the stupidity of the joke that is being played on us and see that the blessings of the dead are greater than those on the living and that it is better not to exist, they act and put an end to this stupid joke; and they use any means of doing it: a rope around the neck, water, a knife in the heart, a train."(Peterson 150.) However, Peterson argues that Tolstoy's twisted view of life is sprung from Tolstoy's own existence where life seemed to be naturally evil and twisted. Instead, he brings German philosopher Nietzsche's idea that life's twisted and evil experiences shape you but it is up to you what changes positive or negative it will bring and any evil can bring a "variety of interpretations."(Peterson 153.) Peterson then evolves these ideas further to simplify them into his overarching idea that the focus on such trivial questions such as the meaning of life or the purpose of your existence is pointless if your own life is wrought with flaws that would bring about the questioning the use of your own existence. He instead argues to, "use your own standards of judgment," (Peterson 158.) to prevent events that will cause the questioning of your existence from occurring again. Peterson then believes that after changing yourself with such beliefs that you will begin to see humanity less like a miserable existence but instead as something of genuine good. Then with this mindset of positivity and self-worth, Peterson believes you can begin to question existence and the world.