Unseen, if that is a fair synopsis of Peterson it helps me to understand him. (gonna speculate here)
I was so taken aback listening to his epistemology which i characterize as pre-caveman and post-modern sophistry. It is the little engine that enables his message. Similarly faith enables any form of religion. I would not be surprised if he does not himself believe that message. But like any charlatan he will peddle anything that promotes his message.
No need to even comment on the idea that he knows the mind of the believer.
The first claim equating belief in god with morality ought to be attacked savagely by anti-theists. It is a greater lie than the the lie it is built upon-the lie about gods and our special place in the universe.
1. Thousands of gods-how to know which one to believe? No rational way to distinguish one from another. So it is an accident of our birth or path which determines which god we subscribe to. Since gods promote different morals we are lucky indeed if we have received the one true law as to morality.
2. Therefore belief insures that the majority who follow their belief are immoral. Pity.
3. The gods have in common a demand for obedience. If the believers are in effect slaves to the gods who give morals then it follows believers are slaves to the fabricators of gods. But those who constructed the gods were using the contemporary mores. Thus slavery, subordinate women, smite, smote, rip the nuts off of the bad guys, protect the status quo of haves and have-nots; most of which conflict with our good sense and with any proper sense of fairness.
4. The idea of belief in god as sine qua non of morality is inextricably linked with orthodoxy. If a purported believer is in violation of the strictures of her particular god then she is immoral. But we all know that the orthodox are fucking nuts and if we were each of us TRUE FOLLOWERS that the conflicts, nastiness, harshness and brutality would be even worse than it already is.
5. There is little room for followers to account for the nuances of a situation but that is exactly how life comes at us. A morality derived from an angry god is going to dispatch the offender but we are better than that. We have come to understand nuances and uncertainty and must employ it in judging of a person or issue. Life is not always black and white. It is nebulous. But not for believers who are true followers. They are stuck with the caveman morality that judges harshly and without consideration of what we have learned through science and reason.
6. We know from various studies that individuals who are atheists are no more unethical than believers. In many instances they are better people. True belief turns you into a suicide bomber or a man who beats the hell out of his wife. It is not a surprise. MORALITY REQUIRES THE EXERCISE OF OUR JUDGMENT! When a person becomes a believer that person is moral if at all by accident.
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