Until
October 2016, Jordan B. Peterson was a little-known psychology professor. Then,
a few videos in which he championed “politically incorrect” ideas went viral –
and he shot up to unforeseen fame and fortune. The content of his doubt-proof pronouncements
on everything has subsequently attracted much attention. There may be, however,
a more revealing take on his transformation into a celebrity reactionary (for
the liberal intelligentsia) and motivation speaker (among angry, mostly white young
men). It’s an angle that places style on par with substance.
Back
in the 1990s, before he moved to the University of Toronto, Prof. Peterson already had a cult following among Harvard
students. At that point, though,
he was a different person. He had unbounded intellectual ambition and felt a
degree of dissociation from the predominant ideological paradigm. At the same
time, he struggled with mood swings and spoke in a toned-down, unexcited manner.
For two decades, it was more of the same – until in July 2016 his daughter
convinced him to try a low-carb, “ketogenic” diet. She believed that regimen could
help him (the way it had helped her) overcome a host of health problems: an
unspecified autoimmune disease, insomnia, clinical depression, chronic fatigue,
GERD, obesity, and a few others.
The
very low-card diet did more than that. Dr. Peterson’s health problems subsided
rapidly. He lost much weight and felt energized as never before. In parallel, his
mind seemed to clear, and he acquired his trademark qualities as a public
speaker – combative intensity, furious conviction in proffering simple
solutions to complex problems, and thinly veiled contempt for ideological
opponents (though, of course, he claims he is unfailingly self-critical). Within
a few months, he was ready to relaunch his life, and his career as an “educator.”
Were
the resolution of Dr. Peterson’s health problems and the his
more extreme ideological persona only accidentally concurrent? Perhaps – but
there is another curious possibility. The ketogenic diet is known to boost
sensitivity to dopamine and to other excitatory chemicals in the brain (generally
decreased by modern feeding and lifestyle patterns). The usual effect is a
sense of euphoria and increased confidence and motivation – an overall chronic high of
sorts. In individuals with a more sensitive nervous system, this can literally turn
into mania – an enduringly altered state of consciousness, as described by
neuropsychiatrist Peter Whybrow (American
Mania) and psychologist Fred Previc (The
Dopaminergic Mind in Human Evolution and History).
So
here is an impish thought. Maybe in some contexts psychological stress and
sensory deprivation can help turn some prisoners (including young women) into
jihadists hankering for martyrdom. And in a different setting, similar
influences can help transform a frustrated academic into a righteous social
injustice warrior and virtual cult leader. Over the past couple of years, I
have written several papers exploring the link between neurophysiological
functioning and social thinking. Dr. Peterson’s personal transformation might
be a telling case study.
Come
to think of it, I should maybe try a similarly restricted diet (minus the meat)
– and observe any mental/emotional changes it fosters. I just hope I won’t
suffer some of the unfortunate side effects. And these could go beyond the potential radicalization. For example, Dr.
Peterson seems to have lost the capacity to really laugh - a deficit he shares with President Trump…
