MAPS OF MEANING MAPS OF MEANING The Architecture of Belief JORDAN B. PETERSON ROUTLEDGE New York and London Published in 1999 by Routledge 29 West 35th St. New York, NY 10001 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Published in Great Britain by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE Copyright © 1999 by Routledge All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopy ing and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. Peterson, Jordan B. Maps of meaning: the architecture of belief/Jordan B.Peterson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-415-92221-6 (hardcover).—ISBN 0-415-92222-4 (pbk.) 1. Archetype (Psychology) 2. Meaning (Psychology) I. Title. BF175.5.A72P48 1999 150′.1-dc21 98-37486 CIP ISBN 0-203-90285-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-90286-6 (OEB Format) ISBN 0-415-92221-6 (Print Edition) CONTENTS PREFACE Descensus ad Inferos 1 Maps of Experience: Object and Meaning 2 Maps of Meaning: Three Levels of Analysis 3 Apprenticeship and Enculturation: Adoption of a Shared Map 4 The Appearance of Anomaly: Challenge to the Shared Map 5 The Hostile Brothers: Archetypes of Response to the Unknown Conclusion: The Divinity of Interest Notes References Permissions Index FIGURES 12 The Domain and Constituent Elements of the Known The Metamythological Cycle of the Way 3 Normal Life 4 Revolutionary Adaptation 5 The Ambivalent Nature of Novelty 67 Emergence of “Normal Novelty” in the Course of Goal-Directed Behavior Emergence of “Revolutionary Novelty” in the Course of Goal-Directed 8 Behavior The Motor and Sensory Units of the Brain 910 The Regeneration of Stability from the Domain of Chaos The Motor Homunculus 1112 The Twin Cerebral Hemispheres and Their Functions The Multiple Structure of Memory 13 Abstraction of Wisdom, and the Relationship of Such Abstraction to 14 Memory Conceptual Transformation of the Means/Ends Relationship from 15 Static to Dynamic Bounded Revolution 1167 Nested Stories, Processes of Generation, and Multiple Memory Systems The Constituent Elements of Experience 1189 The Positive Constituent Elements of Experience, Personified The Birth of the World of Gods 2201 The “Death” of Apsu, and the (Re)Emergence of Tiamat as Threat “World” 22 of Gods: Hierarchical Organization The Enuma elish in Schematic 2234 Representation The Battle Between Osiris and Seth in the Domain of Order 25 The Involuntary Descent and Disintegration of Osiris The Birth and Return 26 of Horus, Divine Son of Order and Chaos Voluntary Encounter with the Underworld 27 Ascent, and Reintegration of the Father 28 The Constituent Elements of Experience as Personality, Territory and 2390 Process The Uroboros—Precosmogonic Dragon of Chaos The Birth of the 31 World Parents The Constituent Elements of the World, in Dynamic 3323 Relationship Novelty, the Great Mother, as Daughter of the Uroboros The 34 Spontaneous Personification of Unexplored Territory Unexplored Territory 35 as Destructive Mother Unexplored Territory as Creative Mother 3367 The “Heavenly Genealogy” of the Destructive and Creative Mothers The 38 Exploratory Hero as Son of the Heavenly Mother The Metamythology of the Way, Revisited 3490 Castle, Hero, Serpent and Virgin: St. George and the Dragon The Process 41 of Exploration and Update, as the Meta-Goal of Existence Order, the Great 42 Father, as Son of the Uroboros Explored Territory as Orderly, Protective 43 Father Explored Territory as Tyrannical Father 4445 The “Heavenly Genealogy” of the Tyrannical and Protective Fathers The 46 Exploratory Hero as Son of the Great Father The “Death” and “Rebirth” of 47 the Adolescent Initiate The Paradigmatic Structure of the Known 48 The Known: Nested Groups and Individuals 49 The Fragmentary Representation of “Procedure and Custom” in Image and 5501 Word The “Dual Death” of the Revolutionary Hero The Crucified 52 Redeemer as Dragon of Chaos and Transformation The Socially 53 Destructive and Redemptive “Journey” of the Revolutionary Hero The (Voluntary) Descent of the Buddha 54 The World-Tree as Bridge Between “Heaven” and “Hell” 5556 The World-Tree and the Constituent Elements of Experience Genesis and Descent 5578 The Devil as Aerial Spirit and Ungodly Intellect The Vicious Circle of the Adversary 5690 The Constituent Elements of Existence, Reprise The Emergence of Christ 61 from Group Identity and Chaos World-Tree of Death and Redemption 62 The Alchemical Opus as “Normal Story” 63 The Alchemical Opus as “Revolutionary Story” 6645 The Wolf as Prima Materia, Devouring the Dead King Dragon of Chaos as 66 “Birthplace” of Christ and the Lapis The Alchemical Opus as Myth of Redemption 6678 The Restitution of [Christ] the Mystic Apple to the Tree of Knowledge The Eternal Return of the Boddhisatva I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. (Matthew 13:35) Preface DESCENSUS AD INFEROS Something we cannot see protects us from something we do not understand. The thing we cannot see is culture, in its intrapsychic or internal manifestation. The thing we do not understand is the chaos that gave rise to culture. If the structure of culture is disrupted, unwittingly, chaos returns. We will do anything-anything-to defend ourselves against that return. “The very fact that a general problem has gripped and assimilated the whole of a person is a guarantee that the speaker has really experienced it, and perhaps gained something from his 1 sufferings. He will then reflect the problem for us in his personal life and thereby show us a truth.” I was raised under the protective auspices, so to speak, of the Christian church. This does not mean that my family was explicitly religious. I attended conservative Protestant services during childhood with my mother, but she was not a dogmatic or authoritarian believer, and we never discussed religious issues at home. My father appeared essentially agnostic, at least in the traditional sense. He refused to even set foot in a church, except during weddings and funerals. Nonetheless, the historical remnants of Christian morality permeated our household, conditioning our expectations and interpersonal responses, in the most intimate of manners. When I grew up, after all, most people still attended church; furthermore, all the rules and expectations that made up middle-class society were Judeo-Christian in nature. Even the increasing number of those who could not tolerate formal ritual and belief still implicitly accepted—still acted out —the rules that made up the Christian game. When I was twelve or so my mother enrolled me in confirmation classes, which served as introduction to adult membership in the church. I did not like attending. I did not like the attitude of my overtly religious classmates (who were few in number) and did not desire their lack of social standing. I did not like the school-like atmosphere of the confirmation classes. More importantly, however, I could not swallow what I was being taught. I asked the minister, at one point, how he reconciled the story of Genesis with the creation theories of modern science. He had not undertaken such a reconciliation; furthermore, he seemed more convinced, in his heart, of the evolutionary viewpoint. I was looking for an excuse to leave, anyway, and that was the last straw. Religion was for the ignorant, weak and superstitious. I stopped attending church and joined