Interlude IX — The Unconscious Collective: Crowd Mind, Contagion, and Hidden Governance
Oct 02, 2025•7 min•Ep. 20
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Episode description
What happens when individuality dissolves into the crowd? From Durkheim’s collective effervescence to Tarde’s contagion of imitation, from Canetti’s swarm psychology to Girard’s scapegoat mechanism, and from Zimbardo’s situational power to Arendt’s banality of evil, this interlude explores the hidden dynamics of group mind.
The observable unknown here is the collective itself: a force that shapes choice, obedience, and even violence, while remaining invisible to those within it.
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