The renowned Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson, who has grown a world-wide audience over the last few years with his publications and online contributions to a variety of cultural topics, has been awarded this year’s Spengler Prize of the Oswald Spengler Society. In an exclusive press release for The European Conservative, the Spengler Society explains its decision by pointing to Peterson’s “ruthless analysis of the decay of our civilisation” and his “appeal to the last Westerners’ sense of duty and morality.”
While not a philosopher in the academic sense, Peterson “fights for holding on to the very own basic values of our civilization.” The fact that Peterson “understands and legitimizes these values not only in terms of evolutionary biology, but increasingly also in terms of tradition and civilisation,” while “promoting a constructive approach to the Christian faith as the ultimate foundation of the Occident, makes his work increasingly compatible and complementary to that of Spengler.” In light of these achievements, the Spengler Society is honored that Peterson has accepted the award, which will be handed out in an online ceremony on August 30th.
The Oswald Spengler Society was founded in 2017, among others by the Belgian historian David Engels and the German economist Max Otte. The society is dedicated to promoting and engaging in comparative studies of world history, cultures, and civilizations. The previous winners of the Spengler prize include the French author Michel Houellebecq in 2018 for his “unsparing literary description of the decline of our civilization,” and Walter Scheidel in 2020 for his “contribution to quantification in comparative cultural studies.”
To mark the occasion, the Spengler Society also announced its 2022 International Spengler Conference, which will be dedicated to the topic “Myth, Fate, and Duty. Oswald Spengler and Jordan Peterson as Moral Philosophers.” The conference will take place in Germany over the period of October 20th to 22nd. A call for papers has been issued, the deadline for proposals is the end of August. For more information visit: https://www.oswaldspenglersociety.com
