Michael
Jan 28th 2010, 02:08 PM
The madness of crowds
Mass delusions and hysterical outbreaks have repeatedly occurred in history, and there's no reason to believe they won't again.
Before the 20th century, most reports of mass delusions or hysterical outbreaks - known to sociologists and psychologists as 'mass sociogenic illness' - involved people exposed to strict discipline for a long time.
Between the 15th and 19th centuries a popular belief in witches and demons, along with a growing strictness in some European convents, triggered dozens of hysterical outbreaks among nuns.
This is not surprising. Young girls were often coerced into joining isolating religious orders, practicing rigid discipline in confined, all-female living quarters.
Along with vows of chastity and poverty, many endured near-starvation diets, repetitious prayer rituals and lengthy fasts. Flogging and incarceration resulted from even minor transgressions. When hysteria arose, it could last for months; or wax and wane for years.
While European nunneries might have been a perfect breeding ground for mass delusions and hysteria, they are by no means the only places. And while much has been written about individual hysteria, little attention has been directed towards delusional or hysterical outbreaks among groups. Yet evidence of past episodes abound.
Article (http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/3154/the-madness-crowds?page=0%2C0)
Again, another interesting article on a timely subject. It is interesting to speculate about the similarities to contemporary hysterias (like financial or housing bubbles).
Mass delusions and hysterical outbreaks have repeatedly occurred in history, and there's no reason to believe they won't again.
Before the 20th century, most reports of mass delusions or hysterical outbreaks - known to sociologists and psychologists as 'mass sociogenic illness' - involved people exposed to strict discipline for a long time.
Between the 15th and 19th centuries a popular belief in witches and demons, along with a growing strictness in some European convents, triggered dozens of hysterical outbreaks among nuns.
This is not surprising. Young girls were often coerced into joining isolating religious orders, practicing rigid discipline in confined, all-female living quarters.
Along with vows of chastity and poverty, many endured near-starvation diets, repetitious prayer rituals and lengthy fasts. Flogging and incarceration resulted from even minor transgressions. When hysteria arose, it could last for months; or wax and wane for years.
While European nunneries might have been a perfect breeding ground for mass delusions and hysteria, they are by no means the only places. And while much has been written about individual hysteria, little attention has been directed towards delusional or hysterical outbreaks among groups. Yet evidence of past episodes abound.
Article (http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/features/print/3154/the-madness-crowds?page=0%2C0)
Again, another interesting article on a timely subject. It is interesting to speculate about the similarities to contemporary hysterias (like financial or housing bubbles).