/lit/ - Literature

I'm looking forward to this. I don't think Peterson can win these debates, but it's still admirable for him to try and for Sam to have him back. It's not like Harris is about to start plugging Carl Jung, or that JP is going to start practicing transcendental meditation (which might end his career).

Harris is miles away from the culture war that Peterson lives in. It's why I think he's going to have the high hand, because he can be detached, which is going to make Peterson have to make his case in the ever-more strenuous way that seems to be driving him to total exhaustion. It does seem like that's a place he likes to be in, but it only works if he's able to do his motivational-speaker thing. Sam has already Sorted Himself Out tho.

Maybe when you get situations like this you need a third party, a moderator or a panel. I don't know. Having them go head-to-head will be interesting but maybe it would be better to just set it up in a way where they don't have to slug it out over frameworks and axioms. This is of course Peterson's thing, the terms of the discussion, and I don't know how he sways Harris on his. What I would like Sam to do is try out the same move that he used on Hannibal Burress: 'I can sum up your position in a way that you would agree with, but I don't think you can do the same for me. Do you want to take that bet?' That's one of the best things I have ever heard in a discussion. If Harris can do that for Peterson - and really I think he has to, Peterson doesn't even have to go the other way - then that would that.

It's too bad Peter Sloterdijk isn't available for WU. He says some interesting stuff in this clip about culture and rage management.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPGUiFDFrwk

Maybe having a good Stoic public intellectual would be good too, someone between Harris and JP, between ultra-detached utilitarianism and ultra-attached Jungian archetypes. I suppose Taleb kind of/sort of falls into this category. And he's another guy not likely to do WU.