So, what is a "mass"? How does it acquire the power to influence an individual's mental life so decisively? And what is the internal change that occurs when a person stops being "one" and becomes "many";

The famous Austrian Psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, examines here what happens when an individual becomes a member of a tribe, a people, a class, an institution, or a group that is suddenly formed for a specific purpose. How is what we call the "racial soul" formed? Is the state within the crowd a form of hypnosis, and why does the multitude become so impressionable, uncritical, gullible — and often capable of actions that the individual himself would reject;

A classic text for understanding collective behavior, persuasion mechanisms, and the allure of power, "The Psychology of Crowds" and analysis of the Ego remains relevant as long as there are crowds, leaders, and ideas seeking to claim our soul.

A minimal sample of the labels that have been attributed to him, in his time and afterward, includes "mad," "deceiver," "dangerous," "genius," "magician," "god." He has influenced all arts, culture, sciences (medical, social, political, humanitarian), and has changed more than anyone else the way we perceive ourselves and interpret the world.

The reason, of course, is Sigmund Freud, an exceptionally methodical and stubbornly enigmatic Austrian doctor, who attempted to solve all the mysteries of the human psyche.

Text editor: Dimitris Alexakis