Beliefs and ideologies are like operating systems for your mind, and most of us are running on broken code. In this modern age where “anything goes” and information overload, our operating systems are full of viruses.
Politicians, “experts”, and media push all manner of absolute nonsense. Colleges are full of the most broken ideologies and fantastical ideas ever witnessed on planet earth, and most people just parrot what seems popular or virtuous.
NO more! KB here to save the day.
What the hell is true? Politically? Religiously? Philosophically? Nutritionally? Is there a truth?
And does it even matter?
Yes it matters. Because truth is not arbitrary. And the degree an idea is TRUE can be measured. This is what modernity avoids like the plague.
Truth is Not Arbitrary
Not all perspectives are equal, and certainly not all “truths” are valid. Claiming truth is subjective, or that every opinion holds equal weight, is a fundamental flaw. Truth aligns with reality, and reality is not kind to delusion.
For instance, the mindset that “I am entitled to an easier life” or “I am a victim of all bad things” leads directly to moral and personal decay. This way of thinking corrupts the individual, leading to both psychological and physical unhealthiness. False beliefs rot the soul, body, and society at large.
Testing Ideas Against Reality
My test for truth: that which creates healthiness. Truth is what leads to vitality, harmony, and flourishing. Lies, on the other hand, create confusion, chaos, and disease. If something makes you weaker, it’s false. If it strengthens you—physically, mentally, or spiritually—it aligns with truth.
This applies to every aspect of life. Whether in personal beliefs, nutrition, or lifestyle choices, truth can be measured by the health it produces.
The Truth in Nutrition and Physiology
We see this clearly in nutrition and physiology: the diet and lifestyle that create greater vitality and healthiness are TRUE for the body. That which decreases energy levels and healthiness is FALSE for the body.
Physically, I think most nutritionists and doctors should exclusively measure metabolic rate, ATP production, and hormone levels when studying diets. These are the magical processes in the body responsible for energy production. Hormones, in particular, are what turn a baby ape into a silverback gorilla on a diet of leaves. It’s literally impossible to have peak hormone balance if anything in your body is off. Therefore, if we measure these exclusively while making adjustments to our lifestyle and diet, we will align with what is true for your body.
And yes, your body’s truth is different from mine. But there are guiding universal principles, like good sleep.
This relativity could be extrapolated to what is politically and ideologically true for Nordic Viking tribes, which may be different from an Indian village. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
Returning to: Truth is Measured by Healthiness
What is healthiness? Vitality, harmony, and proper energy flow.
If your body lacks these, then something you’re doing, eating, or believing is wrong. Yet, modern society often measures nonsense instead of the true indicators of healthiness. The entire medical system is wrong because of this. In my estimation, it doesn’t know what to measure first, and then it treats symptoms instead of focusing on the fundamentals of strength, vitality, and healthiness.
Truth in Personal Philosophy
A true personal philosophy leads to personal flourishing. Healthiness I want to define as optimal energy flow and harmony. If your life or your body lacks this, there’s a good chance your worldview and lifestyle are wrong. Falsehoods create blockages to the peak energy flow of life.
Faith for instance, faith in a higher power, allows the mind to be more untroubled by loss or worries. There is a greater sense of trust, which promotes greater ease and energy flow even in difficult circumstances. Hence Faith of some kind is important, it leads to greater healthiness.
Having healthy values is important, and but going beyond that, creating the right hierarchy of values is the Great Work. For instance, when my personal philosophy had spirituality or intellectualism as the chief concerns, my body was weak. And I often felt impotent. When I put courage as my core value and sought to lead with courage each day, my life radically transformed into unbelievable mount of health. Addictions fell away, wrong relationships were abandoned, and I did the things that made me feel more free and alive. Courage at the center of my personal philosophy led to my healthiest existence so far.
Truth in Governance
What is true on a personal level also applies to governance and culture. The true state is the one that creates the healthiest citizens and culture.
- True hierarchy reflects natural order, merit, and strength.
- True moral valuations are those that lead to the heights of flourishing for a people.
- True social and economic policies increase the overall power and prosperity of the whole.
These and many more can all be tampered and adjusted to be in greater alignment with truth. Hence I wholeheartedly believe in the creation of a true state.
You see, I believe there is an ideal form behind reality. A true self that is trying to awaken within you, but you must smooth out all the knots in your mind and body. There is a true state trying to awaken within each group of people, but all the false ideologies and diseases block it’s manifestation.
And the degree the truth is manifesting, can be seen in the level of overall healthiness.
When we measure the right things, and actually gather historical data and adapt with an open mind, we can ascend toward great healthiness. Because we are coming closer to truth. Personally and societally, this works. Creating the conditions for healthy flourishing – this should be the goal of life.
Aristotle recognized this long ago when he spoke of “healthy forms of governance”—like monarchy, aristocracy, and constitutional government—which he saw as true and enduring forms of political organization. But when monarchy is degraded for instance, it turns to tyranny. When aristocracy, which means ruled by the best, degrades, it becomes a oligarchy – rule by the richest. And when constitutional democracy is corrupted, it becomes mob rule lead by con men. Sick governance is an product of false values. Values and hierarchies that are not in alignment with truth.
This brings us to a specific term from Aristotle: Eudaimonia – total human flourishing. This is the goal of the good state and culture. Eudaimonia is concerned with the question: what are the conditions for flourishing? To me, this is the most important question we could ask and seek to answer.
But most of our politicians, doctors, and leaders are missing this first principle.
Measuring Philosophies and Ideologies with History
There’s a reason I’m fascinated by high cultures and specific periods of flourishing in Western civilization—those people got something right. The problem today is that we often study history looking for ammunition to use against political opponents or for quotes that validate our existing beliefs. If you think modern news is full of misinformation, history can be even worse when it’s cherry-picked.
But history is still essential. To truly understand what created health and vitality in a society—or led to its decline—you have to examine their beliefs and way of life without moral judgment. Take, for example, the North Germanic barbarians during the Roman era. Study their lives a-morally. Step outside modern ideas of right and wrong, and just observe what made them strong.
This is exactly what Friedrich Nietzsche did throughout his works, especially in his Genealogy of Morals. Nietzsche had, as he put it in Ecce Homo, “a finer sense for the symptoms of decline: I was the first to see, in truth… a higher kind of health, strength, and fullness of spirit, a new ideal.” His observations about health and sickness are a major inspiration for this video.
The Need for Accountability in Modern Leadership
We live in a society where there are no historical audits or accountability for our leaders. Politicians make decisions—about the economy, war, or policy—that can lead to millions of deaths or financial ruin, yet there’s no system to hold them accountable afterward. We never circle back.
Without accountability and measurement, there can be no real democracy or functioning government. Just like we measure key health indicators—like metabolic rate and testosterone—and track progress over time, we should apply the same principle to our leaders and systems of governance.
Democracy will always be led by incompetence unless leaders are held accountable for the long term. These are the people who decide if your sons die in war or if your family loses their home in the next recession. In ancient Athens, generals were executed if they failed in leadership. We should demand perhaps something less barbaric, but sever. Or else we will always be led by fools.
THE NETWORK STATE:
This is where a network state comes into play. We actually have the ability to create independent states that have a leger of all decisions and actions stored transparently in the blockchain. Im still learning about this idea myself, but there seems to be a rapidly dawning opportunity for like-minded people to get together, create a network state, and experiment towards a true state for their tribe. I’m keen to build such a community and implement forms of political theory and social organization that can be measured and adapted towards eudaimonia. But alas, this is a vast and long ranging dream, which will require many leaders. SO join my newsletter, or men’s academy if you want to stay in the loop or ally with me.
Relative Truth
Now for the caveats: The ideal or true state for one geographic or ethnic region may not be true for another. Your diet may not be best for me. Your personal philosophy of Buddhism might create tremendous health in you, while Norse paganism might do the same for me.
Truth varies somewhat from person to person within an ethnic or cultural context. Homogeneous groups often rely on tradition, but tradition itself varies widely across different locations, ethnicities, and cultures.
Conclusion
If your beliefs aren’t making you healthier, stronger, and more capable, they’re likely part of the problem. Truth isn’t arbitrary. We can measure the strength of any philosophy by the health (energy + harmony) it produces—whether in individuals, societies, or entire civilizations. That’s the real test.
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