the major idea of humankind. We suffer. What do we do about it? We figure out how to bargain with the future. And we minimize suffering in that manner." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
"Biblical Series IV: Adam and Eve: Self-Consciousness, Evil, and Death"
“

To come up with the idea that you can bargain with the future is the major idea of humankind. We suffer. What do we do about it? We figure out how to bargain with the future. And we minimize suffering in that manner.

— Jordan Peterson

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "To come up with the idea that you can bargain with the future is the major idea of humankind. We suffer. What do we do about it? We figure out how to bargain with the future. And we minimize suffering in that manner." in the context of ""Biblical Series IV: Adam and Eve: Self-Consciousness, Evil, and Death"" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Jordan Peterson" (Quotes, Lectures, Biblical Lectures) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

Tags

#Jordan Peterson#bargain#future#idea#humankind#suffering#minimize#suffer#figure#manner#major#what
Jordan Peterson

About Jordan Peterson

Jordan Bernt Peterson (born June 12, 1962) is a Canadian clinical psychologist at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (1999), 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2017), Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (2021) and We Who Wrestle With God (2024)