Jordan Peterson is certainly a captivating speaker by most accounts, and he is good at weaving his areas of professional interest into broader themes of philosophy and religion.
That said, I think that much of what he does say often evades scrutiny because of his charisma (some people will deny he is charismatic or wonder how anyone can think he is, but charisma is an odd quality that doesn't affect everyone the same way). One of his former colleagues at the University of Toronto said that if he was at a party, people would gather round him to listen to him regardless of what he said.
But, when someone does pin him down, as Sam Harris did on the subject of truth, a lot of his argument for the importance of "pragmatic truth" unravels under the glaringly obvious point that he is not arguing for truth, though he insists on calling it that, but some kind of shared fiction.
Worth listening to. Harris and Peterson had a number of subsequent debates going back and forth where I think it becomes pretty clear that Peterson is in the game of "Jesus smuggling" as Douglas Murray characterized it (whether he agreed with the charge or not, I think Murray's term is accurate).
Also, I have heard
him say that he is extremely precise in his language, but I dispute that. As with the Jesus smuggling, I think he seems to be pushing ideas that he does not always want to be seen as endorsing. He has often claimed that he did not say what he clearly did say, and which he insisted he did say. Here are some examples:
On ancient art depicting DNA, claiming that he really believes that coiled snakes really represented DNA then denying he believed it when asked about it, then admitting it to Dawkins and saying he had taken a lot of drugs and really believes that people who do so can see DNA with their own eyes (no, seriously!)
When asked by a nervous student about him defending hierachies, etc... denying that he has ever done so, rudely dismissing the student's nervous responses "Okay" etc... "NOT OKAY!" before then saying he defends hierachy, etc...
Essentially arguing that Russia were right to invade Ukraine because it represents the degenerate West. Then sneering about how nobody knows about the Holomodor [sic] (he means Holodomor - he repeated this in another video suggesting he really doesn't know the name himself.)
The beef diet (which his daughter promotes even though he himself claimed he needs for his particular genetic disease - though his wife is now on it suggesting he genetic justification does not hold).
The benzo addiction. I don't want to be mean about this, but it is odd that someone who preaches standing up straight and self-reliance got himself hooked on these pills.
He claimed that the physician who performed surgery on Elliot Page was a criminal. Then in a video justifying this, doubled down on the criminal accusation (meaning metaphorically presumably) saying something about how Nazi doctors were not criminals in Nazi Germany but were criminals none the less...
He's claimed, in conversation with Bret Weinstein that medical science has killed more people than it is saved. He then pointed out he has no idea if it is true, and it may not be true, but it may not not be true (this is the language expert, Jordan Peterson!).
He also followed Weinstein somewhat down the anti-vax path that Weinstein slid down.
Put it this way, if Jordan Peterson says something, it might be true, but it might not be true, and might not not be true. I wouldn't rely on him.