http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Le_Bon
Gustave Le Bon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gustave Le Bon | |
|---|---|
 Gustave Le Bon |
|
| Born | 7 May 1841 Nogent-le-Rotrou |
| Died | 13 December 1931 (aged 90) Marnes-la-Coquette |
| Nationality | French |
| Fields | Social psychology |
| Known for | Crowd psychology |
His work on crowd psychology became important during the first half of the twentieth century when it was used by media researchers such as Hadley Cantril and Herbert Blumer to describe the reactions of subordinate groups to media.
He also contributed to controversy about the nature of matter and energy. His book The Evolution of Matter was very popular in France (having twelve editions), and though some of its ideas—notably that all matter was inherently unstable and was constantly and slowly transforming into luminiferous ether—were used by some physicists of the time (including Henri Poincaré), his specific formulations were not given much consideration. In 1896 he reported observing a new kind of radiation, which he termed "black light" (not the same as what modern people call black light today), though it was later discovered not to exist.[1]
Contents |
Life
Le Bon was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou, France (near Chartres), and died in Marnes-la-Coquette. He studied medicine and toured Europe, Asia, and North Africa during the 1860s to 1880s while writing about archeology and anthropology, making some money from the design of scientific apparatus. His first great success however was the publication of Les Lois psychologiques de l'évolution des peuples (1894; The Psychology of Peoples), the first work in which he used a popularizing style that was to make his reputation secure. His best selling work, La psychologie des foules (1895; English translation The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, 1896), was published soon afterward.In 1902, he began a series of weekly luncheons (les déjeuners du mercredi) to which prominent people of many professions were invited to discuss topical issues. The strength of Le Bon's personal networks is apparent from the guest list: participants included Henri and Raymond Poincaré (cousins, physicist and President of France respectively), Paul Valéry and Henri Bergson.
Influence
Le Bon was one of the great popularizers of theories of the unconscious at a critical time during the formation of new theories of social action.Wilfred Trotter, a famous surgeon of University College Hospital, London, wrote similarly in his famous book Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War, just before the beginning of World War I; he has been referred to as 'Le Bon's popularizer in English.' Trotter also introduced Wilfred Bion, who worked for him at the hospital, to Sigmund Freud's work Massenpsychologie und Ich-Analyse (1921; English translation Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, 1922), which was based quite explicitly on a critique of Le Bon's work. Ultimately both Bion and Ernest Jones became interested in what would later be called group psychology. Both of these men became associated with Freud when he fled Austria soon after the Anschluss. Both men were closely associated with the Tavistock Institute as important researchers in the field of group dynamics.
It is arguable that the fascist theories of leadership that emerged during the 1920s owed much to Le Bon's theories of crowd psychology. At the same time, Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf drew largely on the propaganda techniques proposed in Le Bon's 1895 book.[2][3][4][5] In addition, Benito Mussolini made a careful study of Le Bon's crowd psychology book, apparently keeping the book by his bedside.[6] Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, was influenced by Le Bon and Trotter. In his famous book Propaganda, he declared that a major feature of democracy was the manipulation of the mass mind by media and advertising. Theodore Roosevelt, as well as many other American progressives in the early 20th century, were also deeply affected by Le Bon's writings.[7]
Conservative American pundit Ann Coulter has noted that her 2011 book Demonic: How the Liberal Mob Is Endangering America is largely based on Le Bon's work.[8]
Selected works
- La Civilisation des Arabes (1884; The Civilisation of the Arabs)
- Les Lois psychologiques de l'évolution des peuples (1894; The Psychology of Peoples)
- La psychologie des foules (1895; English translation The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind 1896)
- L'homme et les sociétés (1881; Man and Society),
- Psychologie du socialisme (1896; The Psychology of Socialism)
Bibliography
- Barrows, Susanna, Distorting mirrors – Visions of the crowd in late 19th century France, New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 1981.
- Nye, Robert, The origins of crowd psychology – Gustave Le Bon and the crisis of mass democracy in the Third Republic, London: Sage, 1975.
- Jaap van Ginneken, 'The era of the crowd – Le Bon, psychopathology and suggestion'. Ch. 4 in JvG, Crowds, psychology and politics 1871–1899, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Jaap van Ginneken, 'The lonely hero in French historiography'. Appendix in JvG, Mass movements, Apeldoorn (Neth.): Spinhuis, 2007.
See also
- Crowd manipulation
- Crowd psychology
- Wilfred Trotter
- Wilfred Bion
- Sigmund Freud
- Edward Bernays
- Max Nordau
References
- ^ Helge Kragh, Quantum Generations: A History of Physics in the Twentieth Century (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999): 11–12.
- ^ Brilliant at Breakfast at blogspot.com
- ^ Twelve hours of Anna Freud under a Nazi interrogation lamp at www.thevillager.com
- ^ Wagner & Hitler at solomonsmusic.net
- ^ Men Behind Hitler – The Führer Appears at www.toolan.com
- ^ Alex Steiner, "Marxism Without Its Head or Heart", 2007
- ^ p. 63 ff., Stuart Ewen, PR!: A Social History of Spin, New York: Basic Books, 1996.
- ^ "Why liberals behave the way they do" by Ann Coulter, The Dailer Caller, August 15, 2012, Retrieved 2012-08-16
External links
- Works by Gustave Le Bon at Project Gutenberg
- Gustave Le Bon's works: Page on Gustave Le Bon with his works available in French and in English
- the complete English text to The Crowd (PDF)
- English translation of 'The Psychology of Socialism' (PDF)
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