Beyond chaos Flashcards
Introduction - what is order?
Order is what Peterson calls “explored territory” where the things that happen are predicted and, in many cases, desired. Chaos is unpredictability, novelty, and disruption. So when there’s too much order – for example in the case of totalitarianism – there is a need to move beyond order, and into the domain of chaos to find renewal.
“We need to keep one foot within order while stretching the other tentatively into the beyond. And so we are driven to explore and find the deepest of meanings in standing on the frontier, secure enough to keep our fear under control, but learning, constantly learning, as we face what we have not yet made with or adapted to. It is this instinct of meaning […] that orients us properly in life, so that we do not become overwhelmed by what is beyond us, or equally dangerously, stultified and stunted by dated, too narrow, or too pridefully paraded systems of value and belief.”
Rule 1: Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or creative achievement -
People need to communicate with others to keep their own minds organized. We talk about the past to sort out our stories and to avoid stressing over trivial things. We talk about the present and the future so that we can understand where we are and where we are going (and why). Talking through this all equals organizing, and the judgments and reactions from others help with this.
If you understand the rules and the need for social institutions, and how they prevent chaos from taking over, but you still believe that an exception is necessary (and that you are a good judge of that), you are serving the spirit of the law rather than the law itself. This is a well-considered moral act. But if you don’t acknowledge the value and necessity of rules (order), and you violate them carelessly, you are breaking down tradition and stability, which will have consequences
Rule II: Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at that
You are something that is becoming – and the potential extent of that becoming also transcends your understanding. Everyone has the sense, I believe, that there is more to them than they have yet allowed to be realized. That potential is often obscured by poor health, misfortune, and the general tragedies and mishaps of life. But it can also be hidden by an unwillingness to take full advantage of the opportunities that life offers – abetted by regrettable errors of all sorts, including failures of discipline, faith, imagination, and commitment. Who are you? And, more importantly, who could you be, if you were everything you could conceivably be?”
Peterson answers the question of ‘who are you?’ by stating that we are all part of a force that confronts the unknown, understands evil, and turns chaos into order or that reduces order into chaos (if the pendulum has swung too far in that direction). He states that this is vital for human survival but difficult to understand. And what we aim for – in terms of values, goals – is told through stories that give us direction.
Everyone needs to have a story to move from chaos to a framework in which we can structure our actions and perceptions. And every story requires a starting point and an ending point that is ‘better’.
Peterson suggests we get our stories straight – our past, present and future. That we aim at something and that we draw a line or map from where we are to where we need to go. If not, chaos, uncertainty and unpredictability will drown us. This path “constitutes the very border between order and chaos, and the traversing of which brings them into balance.”
What about changing plans or paths? Make sure it’s not just giving up, and a good heuristic for that is to see if the new path appears more challenging or difficult. If yes, then you can assume that you’re not just deluding yourself.
Rule III: Do not hide unwanted things in the fog
Life is what repeats, and it’s worth getting what repeats right.” This is why things that happen every day are important, and if there is some minor issue or bother it’s worth addressing right away. Most people tend to avoid discussions or fights over minor, trivial things. But this is unhealthy since they repeat again and again, and at some point, it won’t be just a minor problem any more.
“The fog that hides is the refusal to notice – to attend to – emotions and motivational states as they arise, and the refusal to communicate them both to yourself and to the people who are close to you.” Every emotion or anxiety is a signal that points out a deeper problem.
If you leave all dangers and obstacles (and opportunities as well!) hidden in the fog, they will eventually bury you. It will grow in the darkness until it starts to overwhelm you, and you won’t have the energy to deal with all issues at once. So it’s much better to confront things on time and sort through the issues.
Rule IV: Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated
When people look back at their accomplishments and what they’ve valued the most, it’s usually the things that were hard to do. “It appears that the meaning that most effectively sustains life is to be found in the adoption of responsibility.” So some degree of difficulty is necessary to achieve meaning.
“You must sacrifice something of your manifold potential in exchange for something real in life. Aim at something. Discipline yourself. Or suffer the consequences. And what is that consequence? All the suffering of life, with none of the meaning. Is there a better description of hell?”
People prepare for the future, not just for what happens right now. Those future states are states of potential, but we treat it as a reality that might be. There’s a good probability that the future will become the now, and this drives many of our actions that seem otherwise wasteful or unproductive.
Positive emotions are a result of the pursuit of valuable goals. “This implies something crucial: no happiness in the absence of responsibility.”
“Your life becomes meaningful in precise proportion to the depths of the responsibility you are willing to shoulder. That is because you are no genuinely involved in making things better. You are minimizing the unnecessary suffering. You are encouraging those around you, by example and word. You are constraining the malevolence in your own heart and the hearts of others.”
Disenchantment and disappointment can be an indicator of abdicated responsibility. If something annoys, embitters or frustrates you, you are presented with the opportunity to change it and to take up that responsibility.
