CONTENTS
| Preface | ||
| PART I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF COLLECTIVE PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| PAGES | ||
Chapter I. Introduction. The Province of Collective Psychology | ||
| The need for a more concrete psychology—the conceptionof the group mind—objections to the conception examined—theconception not a new one but familiar in political philosophy andlaw—the essential problem | [1-20] | |
Chapter II. The Mental Life of the Crowd | ||
| The crowd presents the phenomena of collective life in crude and simpleforms—the formation of the psychological crowd—itspeculiarities—spread and intensification of emotions—howthat takes place—the notion of ‘collectiveconsciousness’ provisionally rejected—the submergence ofpersonality in the crowd—the low intelligence ofcrowds—suggestibility—lack of individual responsibility | [21-47] | |
Chapter III. The Highly Organised Group | ||
| The principal conditions of organisation—the army as thetype—how its organisation raises the soldier to a higher plane ofcollective life—the nature of collective willillustrated—influence of leaders | [48-61] | |
| Chapter IV. The Group Spirit | ||
| The self-consciousness of the group—the group idea and the groupsentiment—the group consciousness in primitive life—views ofCornford and Lévy Bruhl examined—‘collectiverepresentations’—the peculiar merit of the groupspirit—multiple group consciousness—the hierarchy ofgroups—interaction of groups | [62-87] | |
| Chapter V. Peculiarities of Groups of Various Types | ||
| Rudimentary groups—natural and artificial groups—purposive,traditional and mixed groups | [88-95] | |
| PART II. THE NATIONAL MIND AND CHARACTER | ||
| Chapter VI. What Is a Nation? | ||
| Difficulty of defining nationhood—Prof. Ramsay Muir’sdefinition not adequate—mental organisation, resting on tradition,the most essential condition—lack of clear conceptions has givencurrency to many obscure notions—the study of nationhoodessentially the work of group psychology | [96-105] | |
| Chapter VII. The Mind of a Nation | ||
| National character defined—conditions essential to itsformation—homogeneity a prime condition—the influence ofracial qualities on national character—the durability of racialqualities—acquired mental homogeneity as illustrated by theAmerican nation—the influence upon it of geographical conditions | [106-130] | |
| Chapter VIII. Freedom of Communication as a Condition of National Life | ||
| Large nations impossible in the ancient world—the tendency ofnations to grow larger with increase of means of communication | [131-134] | |
| Chapter IX. The Part of Leaders in National Life | ||
| Nations owe their existence to influence of leaders—men ofgenius—men of talent—their rôle in national life | [135-141] | |
| Chapter X. Other Conditions of National Life | ||
| A common purpose—war the unifier—nationalresponsibilities—continuity of national life—organisation ofthe national mind analogous to that of the individualmind—national self-consciousness—types of organisation | [142-154] | |
| Chapter XI. The Will of the Nation | ||
| Rousseau’s doctrine of the general will—Prof.Bosanquet’s view inadequate—the national mind has bothorganic unity and the unity of self-consciousness—increase ofnational self-consciousness the leading fact of recent worldhistory—self-consciousness of nations developed by rivalry andintercourse between them | [155-168] | |
| Chapter XII. Ideas in National Life | ||
| The idea of the nation is constitutive—ideas work as forces innational life only in virtue of sentiments grown up about theirobjects—the notions of society as an organism and as foundedon contract synthesised in the conception of the nation as acontractual organism—the value of nationality examined—ideasof conquest—of ancestor worship—of liberty andequality—of progress—of solidarity | [169-186] | |
| Chapter XIII. Nations of the Higher Type | ||
| National deliberation—the influence on it of organisationand of traditions—certain advantages of the representativesystem—public opinion arises from an informal organisation—theproblem of the high level of public opinion—its solutionto be found in the influence of leaders | [187-199] | |
| PART III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONALMIND AND CHARACTER | ||
| Chapter XIV. Factors of National Development | ||
| Civilisation does not imply improvement of racial qualities—itabolishes selection by the physical environment—it consistsin improved intellectual and moral traditions and is dependenton favourable social organisation | [200-207] | |
| Chapter XV. The Race-making Period | ||
| Differentiation of races from a common stock—human evolutiondiffers from that of the animals in becoming groupevolution—physical environment supplanted by social environmentand organisation—the direct effects of climateon the body—on the mind | [208-219] | |
| Chapter XVI. The Race-making Period (continued) | ||
| Physical environment determines racial adaptation directlyby selection—indirectly by determining occupations andsocial organisation—the protective spirit in France—thespirit of independence in England—attempts of Buckle,Boutmy and Sir H. Maine to account for these not successful | [220-232] | |
| Chapter XVII. The Race-making Period (continued) | ||
| The influence of occupations—the leading principle of theschool of Le Play—the development of the spirit of protectionin the people of Gaul—the development of the spirit of independencein the ancestors of the English—the crossing ofraces—its bad and its good results | [233-245] | |
| Chapter XVIII. Racial Changes during the HistoricPeriod | ||
| Race substitution—the population of Greece—internal selection—itseffects in Spain—various forms of social selection—mostlynegative or injurious to national stock—economic selectionand the social ladder—the innate moral disposition—thequestion of its improvement | [246-269] | |
| Chapter XIX. The Progress of Nations in their Youth | ||
| The rarity of progress—the conditions enabling progress—groupselection—in what has progress consisted?—views ofBuckle and Kidd—conquest and domination an early conditionof progress—variability of crossed races—influenceof physical environment—western civilisation and socialorganisation | [270-286] | |
| Chapter XX. The Progress of Nations in their Maturity | ||
| Liberty and social organisation—caste makes for rigidity—thegrowth of toleration—imaginative sympathy increaseswith increasing freedom of intercourse, bringing strife andunderstanding—the group spirit as the main agent of furtherprogress | [287-301] | |
| Index | [302-304] | |
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The Province of Collective Psychology
To define exactly the relations of the several special sciences is a task which can never be completely achieved so long as these sciences continue to grow and change. It is a peculiarly difficult task in respect of the biological sciences, because we have not yet reached general agreement as to the fundamental conceptions which these sciences should employ. To illustrate this difficulty I need only refer to a recent symposium of the Aristotelian Society in which a number of distinguished philosophers and biologists discussed the question “Are physical, biological and psychological categories irreducible?” The discussion revealed extreme differences of opinion, and failed to bring the disputants nearer to a common view. The difficulty is still greater in respect of the human sciences—anthropology, psychology, ethics, politics, economics, sociology, and the rest; and it is not to be hoped that any general agreement on this difficult question will be reached in the near future. Yet it seems worth while that each writer who aspires to break new ground in any part of this field of inquiry should endeavour to make clear to himself and others his conception of the relations of that part to the rest of the field. It is, then, in no dogmatic spirit, or with any belief in the finality of the position assigned to my topic, that I venture the following definition of the province of psychology with which this book is concerned.
I have chosen the title, “The Group Mind,” after some hesitation in favour of the alternative, “Collective Psychology.” The latter has the advantage that it has already been used by several continental authors, more especially French and Italian psychologists. But the title I have chosen is, I think, more distinctively English in quality and denotes more clearly the topic that I desire to discuss.