Jordan Peterson on language, discipline and parenting

By now, most of you have heard of Jordan Peterson. He grew up in a small town in Northern Ontario, became a professor in sociology and psychiatry and now has become a world-renowned superstar because of his sometimes controversial views.

This all began when Jordan Peterson opposed the government of Ontario’s Bill C-16 which proposed to tell us how we should address LGBTQ people. He struck a nerve with this position. If speech is not vicious, hateful or disrespectful, the government has no business in telling people how they should talk. It is the widespread use of language by the users of that language that create language. 

The hazards of learning a new language

Learning a new language can be a wonderful experience. It refreshes and challenges the mind. With perseverance it eventually can be a gateway to meeting new friends. Finally, after much effort, it enables one to enter the deep thinking of another culture. As Charlemagne is reputed to have said, “Avoir une autre langue, c’est posséder une deuxième âme”. (To have another language is to possess a second soul.)