E7: The Truth Project | Citizen or Subject? Materialism, the Lie & the Limits of Utopia

What do you do when you look in the mirror and don't recognize the man looking back? By 21, Warren C. Edick II was a licensed securities broker making six figures in Europe, with a Rolex, sports cars, and a 14-room house. Then, one morning while shaving, came the moment of arrête. Episode 7 follows the road from that life to a room he cleaned out of a chicken coop on a Bavarian farm, to fronting a German hard-rock band, to a military coup in Southeast Asia. It lands on the idea at the center of the episode: all evil is a form of lying. From there: why materialism is "insipid," what it takes from us (objectivity, free will, moral culpability), why a lie can't stand on its own, the difference between a simple man and a simpleton, and why liberty depends on critical thinking. The second half turns to political philosophy. Citizen vs. subject. The parameters of the human condition. Why there's no such thing as a full glass of water, and why reaching for utopia makes things worse. And whether a free republic can survive a generation that was told what to think but never shown how. (00:00) Welcome + Episode 6 recap (04:45) Baylor dropout to licensed broker at 20 (10:40) The man in the mirror: a moment of arrête (19:50) Leave your luggage behind (31:00) Frontman of a German hard-rock band (41:40) The negative way: recognize the lie, walk toward truth (44:30) "Whoever" vs. "whatever" you want to be (49:00) All evil is a form of lying (1:00:00) No free will, no culpability, no society (1:07:15) A simple man vs. a simpleton (1:17:30) Postmodernism: logic as a tool of power (1:28:15) Citizen vs. subject (1:43:00) Socrates, young Plato, and democracy's shelf life (1:53:30) Rights vs. privileges (2:06:00) Judge policies by results, not intentions Mentioned: Aquinas, Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Nietzsche, Derrida, Hobbes, Locke, Thomas Sowell, Churchill, Reagan, Thatcher, Milton Friedman, Hayek. Watch the video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyquUJH3sM4 New here? Start with Episode 1. The ideas build. Hosted and produced by Alex Kosley, with philosopher Warren C. Edick II, author of The Clearing in the Wood.