Maps of Meaning

A concept that Peterson introduced in Chapter 4 is that humans live in the “unbearable present.” The present is unbearable because humans live consciously or subconsciously fearing the unknown and death. The pressure of suffering and death sparks two archetypal personalities in human behavior, known in myths as the “hostile brothers.” The hostile brothers, who represent good and evil, are adversaries. Every hero has an evil twin: Seth is the evil counterpart of Osiris (and leads Osiris to his death) in Egyptian mythology; Satan, or the Devil, opposes God and Jesus in Christian mythology. Myths always mention evil because they recognize that evil is an aspect of human behavior. After all, humans who committed unfathomable atrocities, such as Adolf Hitler or Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, were human. Despite what many think, evil is not a breaking of rules. The best definition of evil is “the rejection of and sworn opposition to the process of creative exploration” (310). Additionally, evil hates the virtuous and courageous, precisely because they have virtue and courage.

While dubbing Hitler or Idi Amin as evil may be easy, exploring the processes that made them evil is tougher. Could any human who had the same ambition, power, and beliefs as Hitler still hold onto their virtue and courage? Asking such questions is not apologizing for tyrants; on the contrary, it helps reveal that the threat of evil lurks within all humans and therefore everyone must be vigilant toward it.