‘Eye Candy’ or ‘I’ Candy?
One way to learn a worldview that can make your life better!
An army of young men, equipped with a worldview fleshed out by Dr. Jordan Peterson in his books and lectures, are part of the engine behind the ‘Jordan Peterson Phenomenon’. Now one digital artist is working to send Peterson’s ideas even further afield, using artistic gifts to relay Peterson’s concepts in an entirely different format.
If you know Jordan Peterson enthusiasts, you know that the impact of these ideas in a person’s life can be dramatic. Yet, those who access these ideas do so by navigating complex, long lectures or wading through texts that are scholarly, to say the least. Some of Peterson’s followers feel that if these ideas were communicated in a format that would be easier to access and there would be less room for misunderstanding. And that’s where Fernando Bresciano’s idea comes into play.
His story begins with the impact that the work of Jordan Peterson had in his own life.
Fernando, 35, grew up in Uruguay with parents in academia, both of whom share a passion for science and technology. Fernando grew up on computers but his artistic nature sprouted at a very young age. When he graduated as a Telecommunications Engineer, his first jobs were in software developing. Soon enough, though, he found himself drawn to the world of digital art. By 2016, he moved to London and was working as a full-time artist for a videogame company.
Growing up in a very science-oriented family, Fernando would come to realize that there was a certain vacuum in his life. Religion was dismissed in the scientific worldview and there was no transcendental purpose offered in its place. As a young adult, he started searching for answers.
Over the years, he studied different religions and philosophies. These worldviews were enriching and he assimilated teachings, but didn’t find a resolution to a central tension. Locked in the scientific framework, he could find no evidence for the existence or immortality of the soul. Neither could he fully locate himself in one spiritual path or another.
He reflects,
“I felt that I either had to buy the whole package of beliefs or be left with nihilism. I didn’t see a middle path. I felt that if I discarded some of the beliefs, the value structure wouldn’t hold up for long and an abyss was waiting for me at the end.”
In a fortuitous moment, Fernando came upon the talks and writings of Jordan Peterson. He became an avid follower, reading vigorously and taking in the worldview that many have found useful. In Peterson, Fernando found a kindred spirit. Peterson merges his scientific orientation with distinctly philosophical and existential considerations, coming up with a worldview that accommodates the rational and supra-rational. Fernando found a home base in Peterson’s network of insights.
Says Fernando,
“Peterson’s lectures did not make me believe in the afterlife. But he made me believe that it was fine to not know what awaits us. We humans are made for dealing with the unknown, after all. We have no certainties, we can only take the tools or beliefs that seem to work best to carry forward. As we expand our knowledge, our beliefs will be updated. And who knows? We might even end up discovering transcendence out there in the unknown.”
Because Fernando processes things visually, the next project was clear. He was going to take on to render a drawing, to somehow capture Peterson’s map of reality and represent it visually.
Fernando writes:
“Land of Meaning was an experiment which tries to loosely represent several themes from Peterson’s lectures in the same imaginary place, and see how they would relate to each other. After Peterson himself shared it online, it got tons of positive feedback. Many people wrote to me telling me how the map had helped them crystalize ideas and allowed them to see their own world more clearly, as a result.”
One Facebook page, the haunt of Peterson fans who are distinctly artistic and literary, featured that drawing, pinning it in a prominent place on that page. That’s where I saw it. I was blown away. He had captured many layers of Peterson’s worldview and the visual format made the model easier to conceptualize. I, too, had also come to the conclusion that visual aids would help readers or listeners integrate Peterson’s ideas. My project had me preparing short animations which packaged some of Peterson’s ideas in bite-size bits. Fernando blows that modest idea out of the water, preparing materials that are more comprehensive, covering more ground.
He and I agree: Peterson’s most important work is his Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. Yet, that tome, written academically and somewhat densely, is not accessible to all. It is a book that invites study aids. And so Fernando steps up to the plate! He has created a webpage which attempts to explain visually, in animation format, many ideas that are introduced in Peterson’s text.
Says Fernando,
“The Land of Meaning Explorer is an attempt to use the same visual metaphors to describe with more precision the topics from Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning. I was particularly interested in describing the circumstances that produce the extreme right and extreme left pathological behaviors, since it is still one of the biggest problems that afflict our societies. Hopefully these images will help the readers crystalize these concepts and recognize them more easily, specially when they occur within themselves.”
Fernando takes segments of Peterson’s text and pairs it with an animation designed to explain each concept. In doing this, Fernando is using the visual language that is first nature for many, particularly those who are, first and foremost, artistic or visual.
Reflects Fernando,
“Representing abstract ideas with physical obstacles like paths, walls, hills, etc. matches the imagery of myths and is pretty much universal, but it also offers another possibility that interested me. What if the knowledge we have for navigating in the physical world could help us solve problems in the abstract plane? When we encounter a physical obstacle in our way, the possible solutions come to us naturally; we can try to dodge it, try to destroy it, or change our path altogether. These actions might have their analog for the abstract obstacles that affect our lives, or maybe not, but by making that mental exercise we might come up with new creative solutions.”
Bresciano’s Land of Meaning has attracted much attention amongst the followers of Peterson’s work. This resource promises to give more people an inroad into Peterson’s ideas. Perhaps Peterson, himself, would say that there is value to communicate ideas at varying levels of resolution. ‘Low’ resolution is what some need to get the bare-bones of those ideas that some have used to make dramatic life changes.
For anyone who has been looking for help with Peterson’s Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief, go visit Bresciano’s Land of Meaning! During lockdown, open your mind to expanding vistas! And if you want to get the poster for your wall so you can continue to integrate the complex life space we inhabit, you can access it here.
Fernando has not gifted us with ‘eye candy’. This is ‘I candy’, access to ideas that can help you design your personality and clarify your aims, ideas that can help you achieve a Self that would, to quote Peterson, make you thrilled to be alive. Take the next step, with Fernando as your guide. He gives Peterson’s ideas skin and bones. We are the beneficiaries of this most worthwhile endeavor!
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