Gustave Le Bon

Gustave Le Bon (1841, Nogent-le-Rotrou - 1931, Paris) was an amateur doctor, psychologist, sociologist, historian, and archaeologist. From 1876 onwards, he dedicated himself to anthropology, history, and archaeology, while maintaining an interest in medicine. Le Bon's intellect was characterized by a complete lack of subjectivity. His cold scientific anthropological, biological, or historical analyses are marked by almost absolute objectivity. He traveled through Europe, Asia, and North Africa between 1860 and 1880. He wrote travel narratives and works on archaeology and anthropology based on Eastern cultures. His entire treatise was marked by pragmatism. Focusing primarily on the behavior of crowds, he analyzed all political and historical events through the lens of their psychology, laying the foundation for the science of social psychology. Le Bon's ideas had a significant impact on 20th-century leaders, particularly in the construction of fascist regimes, and also served as a foundation for the practice of propaganda. His major works include: "La Civilisation des Arabes" (The Civilization of the Arabs), 1884, "Les Lois psychologiques de l'evolution des peuples" (The Psychological Laws of the Evolution of Peoples), 1894, "La psychologie des foules" (The Psychology of Crowds), 1895, "L'homme et les societes" (Man and Societies), 1881, "Psychologie du socialisme" (The Psychology of Socialism), 1896, among others.