Hi Gregg,
I'd like to offer a personal response to your blog series. As you are
aware, (a) I'm not very familiar with Jordan Peterson's work, (b) I am on
the left edge of the political spectrum. So, I may be a good "trial
audience" for your account of Peterson's worldview.
For starters, I can say that I found the blog series exceptionally clear
and thought provoking. You present a strong case that his work should be
taken seriously -- *especially by liberals* (inside and outside the
Academy).
Regarding the second installment ("Identity Politics"), I have a story to
share. One day (about 10 years ago), I returned to my office after
delivering a lecture in my course entitled "Adulthood & Aging." An hour
or two later, I received a call from a colleague in another department.
She reported that she had just talked to a student who was rather upset by
the language I was using in class. I thought to myself: "Dear God! What
did I say?!? Did I accidentally insult a religious or ethnic minority
group? If so, I would certainly by willing to apologize."
Well, it turns out that my offense was simply a failure to employ
"person-first language" when discussing individuals with disabilities.
"*Person-first
language?*", I replied, "*What on earth is that*?" I was
informed that person-first language is the practice of *putting the
individual before the disability *[e.g., rather than label someone as an
"autistic person", I should refer to them as a "*person* with autism". I
replied: "Is this really a good idea? After all, I don't refer to
psychology majors as 'persons with a psychology major'. And, if I label
someone as an 'autistic person', I don't mean to imply that they could not
be characterized in other ways (as sports fans, etc.)."
After this conversation, I found myself pondering the ethics of
person-first language. I discussed the issue with colleagues and perused
the relevant literature. I can now offer the following comments (with the
provision that my position may change at any moment):
- To this day, I am unable to embrace the "person-first" ethos. In
addition to the fact that it makes for awkward scholarly writing, I find it
both dishonest and patronizing. If a condition truly *matters*
then it *qualifies
my very being*. My personhood does not *exist* first, only to be
*qualified* second. I *am* my qualifiers: I'm a psychology professor,
a Democrat, a science-fiction fan, etc. None of these attributes exhaust
what can be said about me. Still, any of them may be appropriate in
certain contexts, without the need to remind the world that "I'm a person
first!"
- cf. Jim Sinclair's critique of person-first language:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__autismmythbusters.com_general-2Dpublic_autistic-2Dvs-2Dpeople-2Dwith-2Dautism_jim-2Dsinclair-2Dwhy-2D-2Di-2Ddislike-2Dperson-2Dfirst-2Dlanguage_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=-6VmTSiZbW3QaHYxf-gxnl-tHJkPgbrQy362ks5Rq3Y&s=mRrEHRFYqi5DHtVXioTAOH3w4T4buhw-fs-a4GB0Z3Y&e=
- For a scholarly account of the relevant issues, see:
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov_pubmed_25642702&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=-6VmTSiZbW3QaHYxf-gxnl-tHJkPgbrQy362ks5Rq3Y&s=JKatwBJcZOlQsdNwKV1_wsQTheae61FUlo2wLCg32sE&e=
- The episode described above wasn't my final encounter with
person-first language advocates. As the years passed, I was occasionally
chastised by colleagues and students for my failure to conscientiously
employ person-first language. "*Its APA Style*!", one colleague
reminded me. I replied: "Well then, so much the worse for APA Style!...and
besides, since when does the APA have a right to police our language
(outside of APA-Style manuscripts)?"
- Person-first language is supposed to make the world a more accepting
place for disabled individuals. I don't yet have reason to believe that
this is true. Still, I'm wondering if there might not be ulterior motives
for adopting this ethic.
- Consider direct-care providers (of any sort) who work with disabled
individuals. Here's an account of what might be going on in the
hearts of
a few of them:
- "*There but for the grace of God go I."*
- "But I'm not supposed to see myself as somehow better than my
patients! They are *people*, just like me!"
- "Still, I really am fortunate that I'm not in their
predicament. I don't like to admit it, but there's a sense
in which I feel
as if I'm *much better off *than they are."
- "Does this suggest a lack of respect? hmmm... If only I could
find a way to *demonstrate -- *indeed,* to prove once and for all*
-- that I see my clients as *psychosocial equals.*"
- "My mentors insist on person-first language. This may be the
magic wand I was looking for! Person-first language
perpetually reminds me
that *they are indeed equals."*
- "My mission is clear: I will embrace person-first language, and
demand that others do so as well."
- What we have here may well be a case of Freudian reaction
formation. This is testable. For those familiar with the Implicit
Association Test, I offer the following hypothesis: Those direct-care
providers who are most passionate about the need to employ person-first
language will demonstrate higher levels of implicit bias against
individuals with disabilities.
I'm apprehensive about what I've just written. Perhaps someone will find
it offensive. I think this is an important facet of Peterson's position
(as I understand it from Gregg's blog series). I want to find ways to make
our world better for individuals with disabilities. I certainly don't want
to hurt anybody. But intellectual honesty requires that we critically
evaluate every proposal, including claims regarding the substantive effects
of word choice.
I look forward to continued engagement with Peterson's work.
Steve Q.
On Wed, Jul 25, 2018 at 3:05 PM, Chance McDermott <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> Gregg,
>
> I experienced the blog as an even, engaging, and informative take on
> Jordan Peterson and the relevant embedded contexts. The vantage points you
> offer are powerful, particularly the perspective of one clinical psychology
> professor about another.
>
> -Chance
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 25, 2018 at 9:42 AM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi List,
>>
>> I have completed an initial draft of a five part blog series on Jordan
>> Peterson. It does not have all the links and references, but I am done
>> working on it for the time being and thought I would share. I am going out
>> of town next week, and will be likely posting it the week I get back, right
>> now shooting for August 10.
>>
>>
>>
>> If folks are interested, and read it and have reactions, recommendations,
>> concerns or comments, I would, of course, welcome that.
>>
>>
>>
>> Warm regards,
>>
>> Gregg
>>
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
>> Professor
>> Department of Graduate Psychology
>> 216 Johnston Hall
>> MSC 7401
>> James Madison University
>> Harrisonburg, VA 22807
>> (540) 568-7857 (phone)
>> (540) 568-4747 (fax)
>>
>>
>> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.*
>>
>> Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=-6VmTSiZbW3QaHYxf-gxnl-tHJkPgbrQy362ks5Rq3Y&s=6585cf8Z1c694sc6KQzgBvm4VkZkpMNSqBOa21HR4gI&e=
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=90bbcOZFhaRnmZZRcsMYrdVT1jHM01IBI7MtghaD1ls&s=_Ym8813hI3GEubwzgJvy5bkOTeTJy1wTn5L7r_otAV8&e=>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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--
Steven W. Quackenbush, Ph.D., Chair
Division of Psychology & Human Development
University of Maine, Farmington
Farmington, ME 04938
(207) 778-7518
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