Tag Archives: Cambridge University

Jordan Peterson comments on Cambridge University rescinding his invitation for a visiting fellowship

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Jordan Peterson: I wish Cambridge’s Faculty of Divinity the obscurity it deeply deserves. The sub-head:

I don’t know why the Divinity school has rescinded my visiting fellowship to Cambridge because (and this is particularly appalling) it has not formally notified me of the decision

And this puts it all into perspective:

Since their posting, beginning in May of 2017, these lectures have received about 10 million hits (as well as an equal or greater number of downloads). The first lecture alone — on the first sentence of Genesis — has garnered 3.7 million views just on YouTube, which makes it the most well-received of all the talks I have ever posted online. I have received correspondence in great volume from religious people all over the world, Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Muslims alike — and an equally large number from atheists — all telling me that my psychological take on the Genesis material resonated very strongly with their faith, or that it helped them understand for the first time the value of these stories. You can see this for yourself by reading the comments on the YouTube channel, which are remarkably civilized and positive, by social media standards.

Peterson is clearly insulted by his treatment, and says just what is the case, that it is Cambridge that is diminished by its decision.

What a dud university Cambridge has become!

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Having been a visiting scholar there myself, I can attest that the finest thing about the place are its buildings. As for its scholars and scholarship, just bear in mind that I was there to do research in the Keynes Archive at King’s where he had written The General Theory. But it is, after all, a university, you know, a place where scholars can meet and discuss issues of all kinds in a calm and reflective manner. Here, then, is a fine modern example of what universities have now become: University of Cambridge Cancels Jordan Peterson’s Visiting Fellowship Because He Is Not ‘Inclusive’. That is, he does not conform to the lock-step far-left views of its academics and students.

Jordan Peterson, the University of Toronto psychologist known for criticizing political correctness, announced Monday that he would be a visiting fellow at the University of Cambridge’s divinity school.

But on Wednesday, Cambridge’s administration announced that they had rescinded the invitation following a public outcry from students and professors.

“[Cambridge] is an inclusive environment and we expect all our staff and visitors to uphold our principles,” a Cambridge spokesperson told The Guardian. “There is no place here for anyone who cannot.”

Philby, Burgess, Blunt and Maclean, all no doubt in high esteem among staff and students today, but Peterson, among the greatest scholars of our generation, is not even welcome to spend time on campus where others might seek out his views, debate what he says, and deepen their own understanding.

MORE HERE: From The Spectator: Cambridge’s shameful decision to rescind Jordan Peterson’s visiting fellowship.