04 May 2017

The Curious Solipsism of Donald Trump

From Wikipedia
Solipsism (Listeni/ˈsɒlpsɪzəm/; from Latin solus, meaning 'alone', and ipse, meaning 'self')[1] is the philosophical idea that only one's own mind is sure to exist. As an epistemological position, solipsism holds that knowledge of anything outside one's own mind is unsure; the external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist outside the mind. As a metaphysical position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world and other minds do not exist.

If Donald Trump didn't know it before, nobody knew it before.

"Nobody knew that [ ....] was so difficult." (Where the brackets are filled, alternatively, by healthcare, China and North Korea, NAFTA, etc.)

If it hasn't happened to Donald Trump before, it hasn't happened to anyone before.

The Fake News media is officially out of control. They will do or say anything in order to get attention - never been a time like this!

Not only has it never happened before, there has never even been a time like this in the history of the world.

This solipsism of Trump is partly intellectual - showing a lack of curiosity in history or ideas - and partly emotional. It's not obvious that he cares about the experiences of anyone but him. When he talks, he talks about his ideas and shows little or no interest in the perspective or values of anyone else. Everywhere he goes, he looks around and confirms that he's the center of the universe.

Curiously, his reality has become ours. In terms of media coverage, he has become the center of the world. If he manages to control Congress, his conviction that he's the center of the universe will actually be substantiated by actual events. Once upon a time, you had to be king to have your personal solipsism confirmed by everyone around you.

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