At a University of Pennsylvania gathering of “prominent philosophers, political scientists and journalists” this past weekend, two professors compared the election of Donald Trump — unfortunately unsurprisingly in this day and age — to … Adolf Hitler.
Titled “Trump, Philosophy, and American Politics: Philosophical Implications of the 45th Presidency,” the conference covered topics such as the Electoral College and “the role of major media outlets in a growing ‘post-factual’ environment.”
According to The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of New England’s David Livingstone Smith (philosophy) matched Trump’s campaign rhetoric to that of the Nazi leader “in that Trump spread nationwide depression and paranoia, followed by nationalistic, exclusionary policies. Smith also said Trump’s rhetoric — which he called ‘Trumpism’ […]”
But Stanford’s Kenneth A. Taylor (also philosophy) “brought the room to silence” when he said “We may be living in a 1933 moment”:
He then went on to ask the audience, “What would you have done in 1933?”
Taylor said Trump’s presidency is illegitimate because the “flawed” Electoral College model allowed him to win the election despite losing the popular vote, and that he is extremely concerned by Trump’s “delegitimizing” acts against government institutions and the press.
Taylor concluded by saying the nation “needs all hands on deck” in order to oppose the administration through civic protest and pointed political engagement because Trump’s actions have signaled the end of “ordinary oppositional politics” characteristic of democracy.
Michael Weisberg, a philosophy professor and one of the organizers of the conference, said in opening remarks that the idea for the conference started in light of a “stunning” election, and he cited the concern and uncertainty felt across campus and the nation.
Professor Smith teaches courses on the philosophy of psychology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics, free will and determinism, philosophy of human nature, and the philosophy of race. One of the “selected publications” noted on his website is titled “Indexically yours: why being human is more like being here than like being water.”
Taylor’s interests are the philosophy of the mind and language, and he co-hosts a radio talk show called “Philosophy Talk.” His latest work, near publication, is Referring to the World: An Opinionated Introduction to the Theory of Reference.
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