Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychologist, author, and public intellectual who gained widespread recognition in the mid-2010s. He’s a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, where he taught psychology for years before stepping away from academia to focus on writing, speaking, and media projects. His work dives deep into psychology, philosophy, and cultural critique, often blending insights from Carl Jung, Nietzsche, and Dostoevsky with his own clinical experience.

He first blew up online around 2016 when he publicly opposed a Canadian bill (Bill C-16) that added gender identity and expression to anti-discrimination laws. Peterson argued it infringed on free speech by compelling language use—specifically around pronouns—though the issue got way more heated and symbolic than the legal fine print probably warranted. That stance made him a lightning rod: some saw him as a defender of reason and liberty, others as a reactionary picking a fight with progress.

His 2018 book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos became a bestseller, pitching practical advice like “stand up straight” and “clean your room” alongside big-picture takes on meaning, responsibility, and order. It resonated with a lot of people—especially young men—feeling adrift in modern life, but critics called it preachy or overly traditionalist. He’s since written Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (2021), cementing his self-help guru status.

Peterson’s a polarizing figure. Fans love his lectures (tons are on YouTube) and his ability to wrestle with heavy topics like suffering or morality without flinching. Detractors say he’s either cryptic, pandering to the right, or just cashing in on culture war noise. He’s been on a rollercoaster health-wise too—dealing with severe autoimmune issues and benzodiazepine withdrawal around 2019-2020—which dialed back his public presence for a bit.

These days, he’s active again, touring, podcasting, and posting on platforms like X, where he weighs in on everything from politics to psychology. His daughter, Mikhaila, often collaborates with him, and he’s tied to the Daily Wire crowd, though he’s not a monolith for any one ideology. People either vibe with his intensity or find it exhausting—rarely an in-between.