DoctorOz: Jordan Peterson on Rampant Projection & Self-Hate

Let me shift gears and address the fact that our society, we live in an era of rampant projection. Imposing our belief that our worst sins are present in other people, hating them for that. How do you break that habit? That very addictive tendency to blame others for what you hate the most about yourself? Well, I think part of it is that you notice that your life isn't everything it could be, right? You're suffering in stupid ways, and so you're ignorant, you don't know, and you already think what you think. And so, since you think what you think and you're suffering like that, you're probably wrong in some profound ways. And that means that those who you don't agree with are right in some ways, and you better listen to them because maybe they know something you don't. And that's worth mulling over. And it's very interesting to me to talk to people who don't agree with me. I don't like talking to ideologues that much because I already know what they think. But people who are different than me, honestly different, it's like, great, man, great. You think some things that I haven't thought. I'd really like to hear what you have to say because I could use some new thoughts and maybe that would just help me some infinitesimal amount and thank God for that. And so, you have to understand that that difference is something to be celebrated, to use a terrible cliche. And so, that's part of humility, is that you don't have all the answers. You're humble to say that you're curious of what others think, and I earnestly believe you are. Desperate for it. But you're the tip of the spear. And you come from a tradition of big thinkers who ask questions that many advise us not to ask, but the essence of reality. I wanna talk about some of those questions, but I wanna ask first about you. Because it has been true in the case of other big thinkers before you that it hasn't ended so well for them. Nietzsche comes to mind. But certainly there's- Well, it doesn't end very well for anyone, really, in some sense. So, you know, we don't know how many terrible ends there were for people who didn't have that possession, let's say, by philosophical or religious ideas. So, there's a bit of a sample bias there. See, the illness that you just survived, which many wouldn't have, is in part, I'd have to say, is a friend. Worsened by the fact that you ask these questions and are troubled by them, are tortured by them, actually. And it may have weakened you in some ways at the same time. Do you ever fear that this burden that you've taken, granted it's perhaps better than the alternatives, is too much to bear? Oh, yes. Yes. Always, all the time. But I don't know what to do about it, exactly. You know, our family tries to keep itself in order so that there's some peace there, although we've been so pre-archived with illness and social catastrophe that it's been difficult to maintain order in the house. So, yes, it's terrifying and always, and it isn't obvious how to cope with it. You know, one of the things I've recommended to people is that when the stress becomes overwhelming, you shorten your temporal horizon. You know, you concentrate on the week, not the month, not the year. If you can't concentrate on the week, and then it's the day. Lots of times in the last couple of years, I've been concentrating on the minute. And, you know, I just got to the point recently that I can think past a day. And so, that narrowing helped. But, yeah, it's fools leap in where angels fear to tread. You know, but the fool is also the precursor to the savior. So, that's a conundrum. Why is the fool the precursor to the savior? Because he'll ask the stupid questions that no one else will ask. Plus, he's also a comedian. No one, a comedian, a fool, can make fun of the king. So, that means the only person the king can listen to that will tell him the truth is the fool. And that's why, you know, when you see society start to clamp down on comedians, you think, ah, there's a king who can't take a joke. What kind of king can't take a joke? A tyrant. So, comedians, they're canaries in the coal mine. So, there was a comedian, and, you know, not everybody thought he was a comedian. It was Count Dankula in Britain who got nailed for teaching his girlfriend's dog to do a Nazi salute. Which, you know, maybe you don't like that joke, but it was a joke, but he got prosecuted for it. That was a joke, actually. So, who's more to fear, him or the person who prosecuted him? Well, can you take a joke or not? No, and I'm hoping I can take a joke.