Biography

Jordan Bernt Peterson (1962–) is a Canadian quack and (perhaps soon-to-be failed) clinical psychologist, a retired University of Toronto psychology professor, and Ultracrepidarian par excellence. He has falsely claimed to be both an evolutionary biologist and a neuroscientist but he is neither. He has been regarded as a member of the informal Intellectual Dark Web, which has been described as a gateway into the alt-right. In 2022, Peterson sued the College of Psychologists of Ontario, which regulates clinical psychologists. The College had attempted to discipline Peterson for failing to speak in a professional manner befitting that of a clinical psychologist, which included not using hate speech in public. The College ordered Peterson to complete a "specified continuing education or remedial program" (SCERP) to maintain his membership in the College and his ability to practice clinical psychology. For this, Peterson had claimed that the College was violating his freedom of expression under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Peterson had also tried to have it both ways, claiming that psychological advice was professional speech but that the speech that the College found offensive and unprofessional was his private speech ("off duty"). A three-judge panel ruled unanimously in 2023 that the College had the right to regulate its profession and require him to take the SCERP to maintain his license. The panel ruled that Peterson still had freedom of expression but that if he wanted to maintain his license, the College had the right to require him to moderate his expression to comport with their regulations so as to maintain his license. The panel also ruled that there was no separation between he psychological advice and his offensive speech, that he was doing both under the argument from authority his time on The Joe Rogan Experience, where he introduced himself as a clinical psychologist. In essence, Peterson lost the case.

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