Psychology of the Great War: The First World War and Its Origins

by Le Bon,Gustave

• ISBN13: 9780765804792
• ISBN10: 0765804794
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1999-02-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Psychology of the Great War provides a bridge to study both crowd behavior and battlefield behavior by illustrating how ordinary people are transformed into savages by great events. This element in LeBon's thinking influenced Georges Sorel's thinking, as he had seen the same phenomenon in those who participated in general strikes and revolutions. And in a later period and different context, Hannah Arendt gave this strange capacity of the ordinary to be transformed into the extraordinary the name "banality of evil". The book will be of interest to social theorists, psychologists concerned with group behavior, and historians of the period.

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Transaction Edition
Foreword to the Transaction Edition
Preface to the English Edition	p. 9
Psychological Principles Necessary for the Interpretation of the Present Work
Introduction: Psychological Study of the War	p. 17
The Affective, Collective, and Mystic Forces, and the Part they Play in the Life of Nations	p. 26
The Variations of Personality	p. 41
Germany's Evolution in Modern Times
The Rise and Development of German Power	p. 51
The State According to the Conceptions of the German Philosophers. Their Interpretation of History	p. 65
The Economic Evolution of Germany	p. 83
The Modern German Mentality	p. 100
The Remote Causes of the War
The Economic and Political Causes of the War	p. 127
Race-Hatreds	p. 141
Germany's Aggressive Attitude The Idea of Revanche	p. 152
The Part Played by Mystic Influences in the Genesis of the War. The Hegemony Ideal	p. 159
The Immediate Causes of the War
The Austrian Ultimatum and the Week of Diplomatic Conversations	p. 177
England's Original Antipathy to the War	p. 192
Development of Feeling in England	p. 199
The Respective Parts Played by Germany, Austria, Russia, and France while the Diplomatic Conversations were Proceeding	p. 211
Influence of Popular Feeling upon the Genesis of the War	p. 227
Part Played by the Wills of the Three Emperors	p. 239
Conclusion. Who Wanted the War?	p. 256
Opinions Expressed in Germany and Various other Countries as to the Causes of the War	p. 266
Psychological Forces Involved in Battles
Changes in Methods of Warfare	p. 283
Feelings Aroused by the War. Emergence of New Personalities	p. 304
Military Courage: Its Genesis and its Forms	p. 314
Consequences Due to Lack of Foresight and to Psychological Errors in the Genesis of Armed Encounters	p. 329
Strategical Errors Resulting from Psychological Errors	p. 349
Psychological Elements in German Methods of Warfare
The Psychological Bases of the German Methods of Warfare	p. 365
Application of the Principles Laid Down by the German General Staff. Incendiarism, Slaughter, and Pillage	p. 381
Results of German Methods of Warfare upon Neutral Feeling	p. 399
Unknown Quantities in Warfare
Immediate Consequences of Modern Wars	p. 411
Dubiousness in Accounts of Battles	p. 424
Hypotheses Concerning the Battle of the Marne	p. 433
Peace Problems	p. 447
Conclusion	p. 463
Index	p. 472
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