Book SummaryMaps of Meaning, by Jordan Peterson

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Maps of Meaning

In our modern age of science and reason, we’ve turned our backs on the myths of our ancestors. The majority of people no longer believe in a literal divine creation, much less in stories of heroes slaying monsters or of gods fighting battles against titans. However, could it be that in giving up those stories, we’ve lost something vital to the human experience? Without myths to give the world meaning, how can we frame our basic moral beliefs when technology has given us the godlike power to shape or destroy the world?

In Maps of Meaning, psychologist Jordan Peterson contends that myths are vital to how humans confront and make sense of a chaotic world. Creation stories and heroic sagas aren’t merely escapist fantasy—they’re important mental models passed down for generations that teach us how to face the unknown and incorporate new ideas into our lives. He argues that the enemy of myth isn’t science, but ideology, which twists mythology’s purpose to self-serving, harmful ends. Peterson says that by turning a blind eye to the value of our mythological inheritance, we run the risk of denying our capacity for good and evil.

At a young age, Peterson discarded religion as being irrational, but he also found that “reason based” philosophies were inherently flawed and simplistic. Knowing that humans aren’t rational creatures, he set out to uncover the process by which people form beliefs and how those beliefs shape the world we live in. He discovered that myths from all around the world share certain common structures that reflect how the brain processes information. **Our myths teach us how and why we hold our most cherished beliefs, as well as...

Maps of Meaning Summary Science and Myth

To begin, Peterson establishes that mythological and scientific thinking aren’t meant to achieve the same goals. Human experience is both objective and subjective—science is essential for understanding objective reality, but myth determines the subjective value of the world around us. In this section, we’ll distinguish between what falls in the domain of science and what comes under the subjective realm, as well as what it means to view the world through a mythical lens.

Science is humanity’s best tool for understanding the physical properties of the world. It can tell us an object’s shape and width, what it’s made of, and how heavy it is. However, Peterson argues that pure objectivity is impossible. The human mind always assigns a subjective meaning to what we observe.

For example, from a scientific point of view, we might observe that an object is a straight piece of wood, five feet long and an inch in diameter, tapered to a sharp point on one end. We can predict how fast it will fall if we drop it or how far it will travel if thrown. Subjectively, our brain says this object is a spear. It can be used for hunting so we can feed our family, and it can also defend our...

Maps of Meaning Summary Meaning and Experience

From a psychological perspective, Peterson asks, “How do we actually navigate the world if not through scientific objectivity?” The answer is that our minds create models of the world based on both our present environment and a desired future state. When something interrupts the flow from the present to the future, our brain is forced to come up with a solution, a new “map” to get us from here to there. Peterson explains how this problem-solving process works inside the human brain, how our maps of past experience give meaning to the present, and how the cumulative lessons of experience become abstracted into the larger myths that shape our lives.

At any given moment, our brain operates from a mental model based on our expectations of the world around us. We know where we are, where we’re going, and how to get there. As long as everything goes according to plan, the brain’s logical left hemisphere is in control. However, when the unexpected happens, the limbic system takes over, making us freeze while triggering curiosity and fear. Our senses become heightened toward whatever disrupted our surroundings. The right hemisphere of the brain engages, and with it our capacity for...

Maps of Meaning Summary The Basic Characters of Myth

The basic building blocks of myth come in two forms: characters and plot. The characters in our most primal myths represent the three broadest elements of human existence—the known world, the unknown, and the process of discovery. In this section, we’ll look at each of these characters and how they represent a different facet of the world. One key aspect that we’ll observe about these characters is that each has creative and destructive potential. This, says Peterson, is a crucial detail. Acknowledging that everything in life has this duality is important to any complete moral system, which is what mythology exists to provide.

(Shortform note: Duality, the idea that everything has equal and opposite aspects, is as common in philosophy as it is in particle physics. While Peterson insists that acknowledging duality is essential to any complete moral system, there are those who argue that some dualities represent false equivalence. St. Augustine suggested that [humans are inherently inclined to...

Maps of Meaning Summary The Basic Structures of Myth

Now that we’ve established the fundamental dramatis personae of myth, there are two general storylines that crop up all over the world. The first is Creation Myths that provide the underlying basis for society, and the other is Heroic Quests that teach through example how people should behave. Here we’ll examine the common outlines of these stories and what specific purpose each serves as a tool for interpreting the world and our actions. Beyond that, we’ll highlight Peterson’s claims that these stories reflect the unconscious process through which the human brain processes new information.

The Creation Story

Despite some modern attitudes toward them, creation stories aren’t just fanciful tales rooted in ignorance about the world’s beginning. On a deeper level, the Creation Myth explains how ordered society arises out of prehistoric chaos. Peterson lays out the steps that creation stories take, dividing the primordial “void without form” into the separate aspects of nature, and then organizing the hierarchy of the universe. Beyond explaining where everything comes from, creation stories establish the moral structure that holds society together.

In the beginning of all...

Maps of Meaning Summary Myth’s Model for Life

If the Creation Story outlines the structure and reason for society, and the Hero’s Journey gives a model for coping with a dangerous world, how then do we apply these stories to our lives? Peterson argues that personal growth is a multistage process in which we can use the roadmap provided by myth to fully realize our potential. We begin as children in a safe family unit, then leave that family to be part of our larger society. However, once we realize that society doesn’t provide all the answers, we have to strike out and find our own path. If we don’t, if we deny the possibility of growth, we fall prey to the darker aspects of human nature. Only by voluntarily challenging our beliefs can we develop into the best version of ourselves.

(Shortform note: Changing personal beliefs is difficult. Psychological research has repeatedly shown that facts aren’t enough to change people’s minds. A recent study even suggests that when people do change their beliefs, [they’re often not aware that they’ve done...

Shortform Exercise: Where Have You Met the Characters of Myth?

Peterson writes that stories from around the world contain many of the same archetypes because the tales that resonate the most reflect the commonalities of all human experience—the Dragon representing the vast, unknown universe, the Mother representing the creative and destructive aspects of the wild, the Father (good or bad) representing society, and the Hero (and his Rival) who makes the choice to confront (or deny) the dangers of the world.

Think about a story that you’ve connected with since childhood, whether from books, TV, movies, or folklore. What is it about the story that makes it a meaningful part of your life?

Shortform Exercise: Are You the Hero of Your Story?

Peterson argues that the Heroic Journey represents the mental and emotional stages we go through when encountering unexpected difficulties in order to form a solution to a problem. When a difficult situation appears, at first we feel both fear and curiosity. Then, we have a choice—to seek comfort in the safety of routine and tradition, or to explore the problem and reevaluate our thinking to come up with a creative solution.

Describe a time when you experienced a major disruption to your life. How did it make you feel?