Introduction
Few with a philosophical or psychological inclination have as yet commented extensively on the significance of the election of Donald Trump. The insights of George Lakoff are a valuable exception (Understanding Trump, 23 July 2016), although he holds the view that Trump won by somehow breaking the current rules of the American electoral system (A Minority President: Why the Polls Failed, And What the Majority Can Do, 22 November 2016). This is a view shared by many, including Lakoff’s long-term critic, Noam Chomsky.
On the contrary, Trump won according to the rules, however questionable these may be, and irrespective of the unprecedented proportion of eligible voters who chose not to vote (Who are the three-quarters of adult Americans who didn’t vote for Trump? The Guardian. 18 January 2017). Under the circumstances, ironically, any unqualified assertion that Clinton really won could be considered an “alternative fact” of the kind of which Trump is now accused.
Most controversial has been the endorsement by Slavoj Žižek who has argued that Trump’s election will usefully shake the world out of a dangerous degree of complacency (Far-left philosopher Slavoj Žižek explains why he supported Trump over Clinton, Vice News, 30 November 2016; Slavoj Zizek on Trump and Brexit, BBC News, 17 January 2017; Zizek: Electing Trump will ‘shake up’ the system, Al Jazeera, 16 Nov 2016; Andre Damon, The Idiot Speaks: Slavoj Žižek endorses Donald Trump, World Socialist Web Site, 9 November 2016).
At the time of writing a group of “mental health professionals” have decided to express their concern at the behaviour of Donald Trump by addressing a collective letter to The New York Times (Mental Health Professionals Warn About Trump, 13 February 2017; Mental health professionals warn Trump is incapable of being president, The Independent, 13 February 2017): Continue reading