It appears that Donald Trump’s denial of science in the case of global warming is not an isolated phenomenon. Science is based on a critical evaluation of facts and the creation of theories that align with and help explain those facts. Since Donald Trump seems to have little to no regard for facts, it is not surprising that he can easily disregard the findings of science. It appears that the only criterion for the truth-value of a statement in Trump’s world is that the statement occurred to Trump. Anything he thinks or surmises constitutes truth. This is what might be called narcissistic solipsism, a belief that the truth of a belief is constituted entirely by its existence in the mind of the believer. What is noteworthy about this epistemological position is that it is allows Trump to sat things today that directly contradict what he said yesterday; “mere consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds” and we can therefore conclude that whatever else he has, Trump certainly does not suffer from a small mind. It also explains such phenomena as “fake news,” since what is fake is whatever I do not believe, even if what I do not believe is what I said I believed yesterday. When we understand narcissistic solipsism we can see why Trump can attack the news for quoting him, why he can decide that Obama is the source of the massive resistance to his healthcare, immigration and foreign policies, and why the Talmudic interpretation of his statements has become a prerequisite of holding office in his administration.
There is an associated philosophical posture that is also characteristic of the Trump worldview. This might be called narcissistic ontology, the belief that the nature of reality is whatever I wish it to be, without having to get involved with the complicated issues of transitioning from what is to what I want it to be. This is reality creation by proclamation; things will exist because I say they will exist. So I can declare that a new healthcare program will replace the Affordable Care Act and that it will be better than the Affordable Care Act without ever having to dirty my hands with what such an approach to healthcare would actually look like. Or to declare that the Mexican government will pay for a wall, or that a white supremacist anti-Semite will provide the nation with national security or that preventing Muslims from entering the U.S. (except those from Saudi Arabia, where we know that terrorism has never received any support) will increase the safety of Americans.
Recognizing that using words like solipsism, narcissistic and ontological is a virtual guarantee that this blog will not be read by the anti-multi-syllabic POTUS, I feel safe to assume that he will not honor me with one of his 3 AM on-the-toilet tweets, the new standard in Presidential communications. I do have some concern, however, that combining presidential power with a worldview so narrowly self –serving and out of touch with reality and so ensconced in a fragile, defensive, insecure and reactive persona, puts all of us, even the greedy rich who believe they can benefit from his plutocratic agenda, in grave danger.