Analysis Of Gustave Le Bon's The Crowd

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From a philosophy perspective crowds have always been a topic of interest. One man in particular is seen as the father of the psychological study of the crowd this is noted to Gustave Le Bon. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, an influential work which he wrote to give the readers a proper understanding of crowd psychology. Le Bon believed there were several influences among an induvial while present in a crowd. There were religious, emotional, physiological, and many more characteristics that are indicative of individual joining a crowd. People in crowds were being united due to their similarities in ideology. Crowds are not present to merely exist as a quantity of people, there is a purpose behind the number of people joining together. …show more content…

They invigorated the crowd with their words reminding us we were all here to protect our civil rights, freedom, and futures. We as a crowd essentially became ignorant that this entire woman’s march was happing the first day after President Trumps inauguration. Yes, there were women protesting his inauguration, but I truly believe there were also women who were using their voice to finally be heard and end the underrepresentation. Le Bon, would argue that we were trying to achieve only immoral behaviors and commit ferocious acts. Although, this sentiment is true of any crowd I believe both good and evil can arise from a crowd. Specifically, in the case of the women’s march I believe we united for good. I believe people join crowds for many reasons and if that is the case then trying to pinpoint one specific motivation of why individuals joined is counterproductive. Although, Le Bon would disagree and would most likely argue that when you immerse yourself in a mass movement, you can disassociate yourself from responsibility. He argues this point when he says, “In crowds the foolish, ignorant, and envious persons are freed from the sense of their insignificance and powerlessness, and are possessed instead by the notion of brutal and temporary but immense

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