Evolutionary psychology is the idea that we can explain peoples' behaviors by making reference to the imagined lives of early hominids and also by finding animals whose behavior explains why it's not tenured professors' fault that they tried to have sex with their undergrads. Read the rest

Jordan Peterson is a Canadian academic whose mysticism-soaked misogyny revolves around the social hierarchy of some lobster species and the literal existence of witches and dragons; somehow, when this rubbish is blended with anodyne life advice for angry manbabies, it creates a potent elixir that transforms internet dudes into an army of argumentative internet assholes. Read the rest

Jordan Peterson, the Jungian psychologist, vaguely Gorean guru of the "masculine spirit" and crusader against political correctness, has threatened to sue author Kate Manne and Vox.com over an interview where she described portions of his book as sexist.

Manne is an author and Cornell University assistant professor. Howard Levitt, Peterson's lawyer, demanded that the interview, posted as "A feminist philosopher makes the case against Jordan Peterson", be removed from the internet.

Irin Carmon reports:

Among the statements Levitt objected to: Manne’s contention that Peterson’s book included “some really eyebrow-raising, authoritarian-sounding, and even cruel things,” as well as her observation that “it doesn’t seem accidental that [Peterson’s] skepticism about objective facts arises when it’s conveniently anti-feminist.” The lawyer and his client were equally unhappy with this line: “I also suspect that for many of Peterson’s readers, the sexism on display above is one tool among many to make forceful, domineering moves that are typical of misogyny.”

I haven't read the book Manne discussed, but among the other things Peterson is famous for is suggesting that women who wear makeup to work are hypocrites if they then complain about sexual harassment. He works, in this respect, as a gooey strand of connective tissue between the superficies of academia and the little feminine things that enrage weak men everyday.

Vox has no plans to remove its interview with Manne.

Vox’s Sean Illing wrote that he interviewed Manne precisely because she, “unlike many Peterson critics, actively engaged with his ideas.” Says Illing of Peterson’s saber-rattling, “I found the request absurd and forwarded it to our legal advisers, who confirmed that it was baseless, and then I happily ignored it.

Natalie Wynn, creator of the Contrapoints YouTube channel, is a lapsed academic well-versed in the lingo of both 4chan and Tumblr, making her the perfect person to construct an entertaining takedown of Jordan Peterson. Read the rest

Jordan Peterson is really easy to make fun of -- what with the mystical nonsense and the pseudoscientific evolutionary biology -- but there are millions of (largely white, largely young, largely male) readers who've found his "12 Rules for Life" to be a balm for their souls and a rallying cry for a movement that has legitimized the most murderous strains of toxic masculinity. Read the rest

Alt-right darling Jordan Peterson is a big fan of hierarchies, which he says are innate to the human condition, something he knows because lobsters have social hierarchies. Read the rest