Ideas Matter: The frightful crowd - the psychology of ‘the masses’

On 20 June 2020, Battle of Ideas charity hosted The Academy Online, a series of talks and book discussions exploring the theme Psychology and Democracy.

In this podcast we feature the opening lecture The frightful crowd: the psychology of ‘the masses’.

Today, discussion of crowds, the demos and by implication democracy itself, is pervasive, for example in the debates on how to influence collective actions of the public in the context of coronavirus, or in the Black Lives Matter protests and counter protests and the mobs said to inhabit and fuel the Culture Wars. But the crowd and mass society were objects of study in psychological terms well before the arrival of today’s behavioural scientists and social psychologists. This lecture explores the intellectual history and evolving ideas that have shaped concerns over the frightful crowd.

The lecturer is Jacob Reynolds, external affairs manager at the Battle of ideas charity, a convenor of The Academy 2020 and a writer and commentator who specialises in political philosophy.

THE ACADEMY 2020: PSYCHOLOGY AND DEMOCRACY
The Academy Online was a mixture of lectures and seminars offering an opportunity to place contemporary events in a historical and philosophical context. The full programme and some background reading can be found at theboi.co.uk/the-academy-online…logy-and-democracy

THE ACADEMY
In the context of today’s instrumental approaches to knowledge, The Academy summer school is a modest attempt to demonstrate the value of scholarship, and of the worth of the university as a place of free enquiry dedicated to the pursuit of truth.

DONATING TO THE BOI CHARITY
The BOI charity is committed to continuing to host discussion and debates throughout this period when society is restricted by measures to tackle coronavirus. In order to realise events such as the Academy Online, none of our staff are furloughed and instead remain working. If you can, then please consider a donation, small or large.
Visit: theboi.co.uk/donate

IDEAS MATTER PODCAST
Ideas Matter is a podcast that takes the most important issues of our times and explores the ideas and intellectual trends that have shaped where we are today.

You can subscribe and listen to Ideas Matter on Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify or SoundCloud. For full details of all episodes, visit the podcast page on our website

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