Jordan Peterson

Psychology Canadian 1962 362 quotes

Clinical psychologist and cultural commentator

Most quoted

"Order is not enough. You can't just be stable, and secure, and well-regulated. There has to be something else. Chaos is not enough. You can't just be creative, and dynamic, and exploratory, or you'll be dead, or in pieces. The proper place is the boundary between order and chaos."

— from 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

"You are not your own property. You are, in part, the property of your community, and your culture, and your ancestors, and your children. And you have a responsibility to them all. And if you shirk that responsibility, you're going to pay a price. And so are they."

— from 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, 2018

"The individual must conduct his or her life in a manner that requires the rejection of immediate gratification, of natural and perverse desires alike, and the sacrifice of hedonic pleasure itself to the greater goal of spiritual enlightenment."

— from Maps of Meaning, 1999

All quotes by Jordan Peterson (362)

The most profound truths are often the most terrifying.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The only way to overcome the darkness is to shine a light on it.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The ultimate act of courage is to speak the truth, even when it's unpopular.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The meaning of life is not to be found in happiness, but in the pursuit of something higher.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

The world is a place of both good and evil, and you have to choose which side you're on.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The highest good is to be found in the confrontation of chaos.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

To be conscious is to be aware of your own mortality.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The ultimate act of love is to tell the truth, even when it hurts.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

You have to take responsibility for your own life, because no one else will.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

The meaning of life is not to be found in pleasure, but in the pursuit of virtue.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The truth is a path, not a destination.

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life

The ultimate freedom is to choose your own suffering.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The only way to find yourself is to lose yourself in something greater than yourself.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

The world is a stage, and we are all actors.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The ultimate purpose of life is to become the best version of yourself.

Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life

The truth is a sword that cuts through lies.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The meaning of life is to be found in the service of others.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

The world is a mystery, and we are all trying to solve it.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The ultimate beauty is to be found in the truth.

Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief

The only way to escape death is to live a life worth remembering.

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos