Author and Psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson Analyzes “Daniel Penny Effect”
Dr. Jordan Peterson, an author and psychologist, recently analyzed the influence of the “Daniel Penny Effect” on people’s willingness to put themselves at risk to help others. The “Daniel Penny Effect” refers to the case of Daniel Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran and architecture student who confronted a 30-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia who barged onto a train shouting death threats while high on synthetic marijuana.
Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely. Peterson believes that Penny’s actions were characteristic of his personality and that he acted in accordance with his character.
Peterson argued that the political left in the U.S. wrongly believes in the “victim status of criminals” and that this is a “very bad idea.” He believes that people who are in dire socioeconomic straits are not necessarily criminal and that treating criminals like victims is a mistake.
Peterson also believes that the “Daniel Penny Effect” will have little effect in the medium or long term on people’s proclivity to help. He argues that criminals are rational actors who take risk into effect and that treating them like victims only encourages more criminal behavior.
Instead, Peterson believes that governments should increase the probability that criminals will suffer the consequences of their actions and stop treating them like victims. He cites the example of California’s decision not to prosecute shoplifting under $1,000, which has led to a surge in shoplifting.
Peterson’s comments are relevant to the critique of the left’s treatment of people as victims, but he believes that the “Daniel Penny Effect” will have little impact on people’s willingness to help others.
