Ep. 382: Freud on Group Psychology (Part One)

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

On the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited?

Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to more organized groups like armies and churches. For all groups, Freud thinks that the leader (or leading ideal) replaces our conscience to some degree.

Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get an exclusive 5% discount on NordProtect plans. Go to nordprotect.com/partially and use the code partially at checkout.

Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Learn more and reserve your spot at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

More description

On the first half of Sigmund Freud's Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). Why do members of a mob get dumber and less inhibited?

Freud considers Gustave Le Bon's famous book on crowds but then turns to more organized groups like armies and churches. For all groups, Freud thinks that the leader (or leading ideal) replaces our conscience to some degree.

Get more at partiallyexaminedlife.com. Visit partiallyexaminedlife.com/support to get ad-free episodes and tons of bonus discussion.

Sponsors: Visit functionhealth.com/PEL to get the data you need to take action for your health. Get an exclusive 5% discount on NordProtect plans. Go to nordprotect.com/partially and use the code partially at checkout.

Interested in Mark's spring Continental Philosophy class? Learn more and reserve your spot at partiallyexaminedlife.com/class.

2025-12-22 45 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.