Maps of Meaning
The Architecture of Belief
by Jordan B. Peterson · first published 1999
74% recommend23% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Draws on Jung, Neumann and research on myth, religion and belief to explain how people build meaning. Valued by atheists and skeptics for a symbolic take on faith; many start with the YouTube lecture series.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Why have people from different cultures and eras formulated myths and stories with similar structures? What does this similarity tell us about the mind, morality, and structure of the world itself? From the author of 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos comes a provocative hypothesis that explores the connection between what modern neuropsychology tells us about the brain and what rituals, myths, and religious stories have long narrated. A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meanin
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…resentful and seek like minded individuals who think the same way. Then bam, you are trapped in your own ideological echo chamber. I recognize this and am trying to grow beyond that. J Peterson lectures on maps of meaning, actually helped me realize this and I now see that it goes both ways. Growing up, my peers and elders told me I was very intelligent and had enormous potential. If I had not able to out think my frustration…
Listen to Jordan Peterson - especially Maps of Meaning lectures and/or book.
on “New documents reveal scale of US Government’s cell phone location data tracking” ↗…does keeps you on the right track in the grand scheme of the things. There is exploration and exploitation. The time will show. I would also highly recommend you checking Dr. Jordan Peterson's lectures "Maps of Meaning" on YouTube and his "Self Authoring" program.
on “Ask HN: How to stop overthinking everything in my life?” ↗…shortsighted. The Guardian had a review of his new book that, while blind to some nuance, landed some reasonable blows against him. My advice to anyone looking to form an opinion on Peterson: Begin with his Maps of Meaning series on youtube. They're ~2hr lectures on the intersection of biology, religion, and morality, and they are the most illuminating rationale of world religion, its motivation, and its persistence, that…
on “Why Can't People Hear What Jordan Peterson Is Actually Saying?” ↗Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning, 12 Rules for Life, and his many tens of hours of content on YouTube. If you're willing to entertain the idea for a brief moment that the Bible has any wisdom at all, his Psychological Significance of…
on “Ask HN: What are good resources for life advice?” ↗…opposed to calling names--or in your specific case implying emotional states or assumptions on worship. I will share that I find it unfortunate that you seem generally opposed to Dr. Peterson's works: his Maps of Meaning (1999)[2], for instance, contains powerful ideas that cannot be easily dismissed. Finally, humans are complex creatures. We can easily find an argument intrinsically stimulating and academically fascinating…
on “Study Pinpoints Source of Banned Gas That Saps Ozone Layer: Eastern China” ↗They are absolutely leading toward the same path, outcome. If you're up for reading I've heard the book Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maps_of_Meaning - will be a deep dive or good introduction to referencing patterns and tyrannical governments through history.
on “Hong Kong protests: Authorities to announce face mask ban” ↗…Sapolsky's lectures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7E21BF91F3F9683 Watch Jordan Peterson's Personality lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYYJlNbV1OM&list=PL22J3VaeAB... and his Maps of Meaning Lectures: (or read the book or listen to the audio book) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Xc2_FtpHI&list=PL22J3VaeAB...
on “Ask HN: Why the Hate?” ↗…programming by Geoffrey James: https://www.mit.edu/~xela/tao.html - An Analytical Approach to Programs as Data Objects by Olivier Danvy https://cs.au.dk/~danvy/DSc/00_dissertation-for-printing.pdf - Maps of Meaning: Gautama Buddha, Adam and Eve by Jordan B Peterson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7T5cg1a77A - Theories of Programming Languages by John C. Reynolds https://www.amazon.com/Theories-Programming-Languages-John-R...
on “There’s no such thing as a tree, phylogenetically” ↗I actually enjoyed reading Maps of Meaning by Jordan Peterson. I understand that in the last few years he’s really taken off the human mask and showed a really unflattering side of himself. One of the points I took away from the book is that…
on “The “Hero’s Journey” Is Nonsense” ↗As a companion to this, I grew up somewhat militantly Atheist (and consumed Dawkins like skittles), and had a very hard time accepting faith in a reasonably way until I read Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief by Jordan Peterson. I know he's unfortunately become quite the provocateur, but that first book is worth a read, and crystallized to me what it could mean to have a world view…
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗To answer your question, Jordan Peterson's video lectures series, "Maps of Meaning" (You would need internet access to YouTube). For long flights, I buy magazines in the airport shop (Wired and Scientific American). I also have my music collection on Spotify on my phone with wireless…
on “Ask HN: What talks or videos do you suggest to watch on a long flight?” ↗…concept are in Jordan Peterson's Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories lecture series, available on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I.... His book Maps of Meaning is also fantastic: https://www.amazon.com/Maps-Meaning-Architecture-Jordan-Pete...
on “Why is history always about humans?” ↗I'd point you to Jordan Peterson's "Maps of Meaning" course. In a couple of words: as a human, you have an objective (be successful, be sexier, make more money, etc.) and things around you will be either tools or obstacles. An example of a tool or "container"…
on “Ask HN: What is the psychology behind why we like containers or boxes?” ↗…years before I started doing that, and it took about another 6 to 9 months before I noticed that anything had changed. I have to give a lot of credit to a lecture series I was recommended on HN as well: Maps of Meaning, from Jordan Peterson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Xc2_FtpHI&list=PL22J3VaeAB... It's weird stuff. Took some getting through. I don't remember what the first guy said that made me stick with it,…
on “New Insights into Hikikomori – People Who Withdraw from Society for Years on End” ↗