On the Claims of Jordan Peterson's Complexity Management Theory

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson‟s ideas have been digested by millions of people around the world. He‟s been described by the New York Times as “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.” (Brooks, 2018) He covers a lot of ground, from Disney movies to Nietzsche to Biblical narratives, but connecting all of these is a golden thread: Complexity Management Theory. Complexity Management Theory is the name given to a neuropsychological framework for describing human perception and meaning in an overly complex world. While the name hasn‟t stuck, the model itself has been refined and rearticulated several times since then. If it‟s accurate, such a comprehensive framework has undeniable utility, if it‟s inaccurate, then the most influential public intellectual in the Western world has based a great deal of his lectures on a false premise. This essay summarizes and critiques Complexity Management Theory as it stands today, contextualizing and critiquing its central tenets as they relate to their respective fields. The results of this inquiry indicate that Complexity Management Theory is both well- substantiated and useful, but it requires further elaboration on its views of perception.