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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