Philosophy has been around since the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The very foundations of society were laid down by a set group of genius men that gave sets of rules for a perfect or just society. What would they think of Donald Trump? Did they predict a ruler like Trump?
Socrates
Socrates was one of the first well-known philosophers, and probably one of the most insightful in terms of corrupt rulers. Throughout "The Republic" Socrates talks a lot about corrupt rulers rising from wealth. Does this sound a lot like our president-elect? He also strongly implied that the ruler would be ill-prepared for the presidency, as Donald Trump has eloquently shown to us. While Socrates didn't say the world would end with a president such as Donald Trump, he did say that it would threaten democracy and its sanctity.
He also said that society would become unjust, as someone who isn't fit for ruling is in the position of a ruler. He also specifically mentions how rulers will act with reckless abandon, and make decisions that aren't just, and only benefit the ruling class.
"He is usually of the elite but is in tune with the time. Given over to random pleasures and whims. Feasting on food, and especially sex."
Aristotle
The case with Aristotle is considerably different that of Socrates, while they both somewhat predicted the rise of a corrupt ruler, Socrates didn't exactly say it. In his book "Rhetoric," he stated that there are three ways that people can be persuaded. People are easily manipulated through logos (logic), ethos (ethics), and pathos (passion).
In this book, he also talks about a rhetoric, which is basically just an older description of what we would consider an election. If you look at the history of presidential elections recently, you could see a trend of pathos winning, such as in Romney versus Obama. Romney had a logos appeal, while Obama had a pathos appeal with the innovations he was planning to make in socialized health care.
Aristotle has proclaimed that pathos is normally the winner, as people listen with their emotions. What did Donald Trump try to appeal to the voters with? Pathos. He tried to take hold of the American peoples hearts so he could win the presidency through lies and continue to lie throughout his presidency.
Summary
Do you think these philosophers' predictions were right, or do you think that it's just a coincidence? No matter what you think, there's no doubt that Donald Trump has manipulated the American people and failed to follow through on his promises.
