A Psychologist and Historian Discuss the End of the World | Dr. Niall Ferguson | EP 404

Dr. Jordan B. Peterson sits down with historian and author Niall Ferguson. They discuss the historical and deeply mythological precedent of world-ending narratives, how the global doomsday ethos abdicates local responsibility while empowering the elite class, the out-of-control gigantism plaguing our administrative states today, and how we might strive to deal with genuine tragedy morally, religiously, and with humility. Niall Ferguson is a Scottish-American historian, author, columnist, TV presenter, and academic. He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University, as well as a senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. Ferguson has written many books, such as “Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World,” “Colossus: The Rise and Fall of the American Empire,” “The Square and the Tower,” and most recently, “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,” which has been shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber prize. This episode was filmed on October 12th, 2023 Dr. Peterson’s extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire : - Sponsors - ExpressVPN: Get 3 Months FREE of ExpressVPN: Hallow: Try Hallow for 3 months FREE: Shopify: Get a $1/ month FREE trial with full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features: - Links - For Niall Ferguson: Website Doom (Book) On X On Youtube @niallferguson5684/videos - Chapters - (0:00) Coming up (0:33) Intro (1:30) All worlds end, the permanence of death (8:23) The duality of cataclysm and adventure (10:41) The Book of Revelation: Spectacular imagery gives justification to the conceptualization of God (11:35) Why science fiction loves dystopian themes and a secular wasteland (15:45) We would break Heaven for the excitement of Hell (21:30) Asceticism: humanities strange tendency for self-harm in preparation for the end times (29:00) Delusions of “the science,” virtue signaling over problem solving (34:13) The Tower of Babel, and how this story reiterates across time (37:59) This is the only “law” in the study of history (39:58) We want to live in a “moral universe” (42:06) Worldviews that outlive their eras and religious roots (45:04) The “sin of Eve,” morality, and the tendency to overreach (49:59) Oppenheimer, ethics and the ability to destroy (54:24) Drinking the snake oil, why Oppenheimer was ineffective as a peace lobbyist (56:53) Henry Kissinger: the cost of preemption and the necessity of action (1:02:42) Every good leader should aspire to this // LINKS // All socials: Website: Events: Twitter: Instagram: Facebook: Telegram: Newsletter: // COURSES // Discovering Personality: Self Authoring Suite: Understand Myself (personality test): // BOOKS // Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: #JordanPeterson #JordanBPeterson #DrJordanPeterson #DrJordanBPeterson #DailyWirePlus