乌合之众

1.当文明赖以建立的道德因素失去威力时，它的最终解体总是由无意识的野蛮群体完成的，他们被不无道理地称为野蛮人。2.只有既不清楚易懂又显得负担最小的办法，才最易于被人们所容忍。3.群体是个无名氏，因此也不必承担责任。

中译者序部分：权威主义人格，法不责众，“艾森豪威尔的老师” 历史中道德在大众面前的无力，在观念简单化效应面前任何具有怀疑精神的思想家都会面临失败--韦伯or罗素等（民主平等自由这些观念已失去本质的含义而变成了空洞的口号，在大众头脑中这些概念只是自身发泄愤怒的出口各人有各人不同的理解而其本质含义早已无人过问）他们的敌人1错误的理解2群体的力量3偏执的态度。在这种情况下任何逻辑推论理性分析都显得不合时宜

The+Crowd----A+Study+of+the+Popular+MindThe Opinions and Beliefs of CrowdsChapter IThe factors which determine these opinions and beliefs are oftwo kinds: remote factors and immediate factors.（其实就是累积因素或真正原因以及导火线的关系）We showed that the power of the race is such that no element canpass from one people to another without undergoing the mostprofound transformations.They may have a considerable influence,but this influence is always momentary if it be contrary tothe suggestions of the race（不懂，感觉像是在定义文明而不是种族，种族在汉语里面定义好像不太一样）in spite of fallacious appearances, neitherlanguage, religion, arts, or, in a word, any element of civilisation, can pass,intact, from one people to another.Civilisation is impossible without traditions, andprogress impossible without the destruction of those traditionsthe most violent rebellions merely end in a changing of words and termsChapter II The Sentiments and Morality of CrowdsCrowds are credulous and readily influenced by suggestion；Theimages evoked in the mind of crowds are accepted by them as realities；Themomentary revolutionary instincts of crowds do not prevent them frombeing extremely conservative—Crowds instinctively hostile to changesand progressIt is time in particular that prepares the opinions and beliefs of crowds, or at least the soil on which they will germinate.（但是也是时间让群众忘记过去）From the primary school till heleaves the university a young man does nothing but acquirebooks by heart without his judgment or personal initiative beingever called into play. Education consists for him in reciting byheart and obeying.（法国和中国其实挺像，问题是，中国彷佛永远像是处在欧洲的中世纪一样，虽然现在思想领域也算活跃，至少每天新出的书籍让人目不暇接，但是总是缺乏一种让人振奋的思想）（即不得志的受过教育的人）The latter are ready for any revolution, whoever be its chiefs and whatever the goal they aim at. The acquisition ofknowledge for which no use can be found is a sure method ofdriving a man to revolt.In point of fact they were that, or nearly so, for two hours on that particular day, but a month later they are so no longer. They could not go through the examination again. Their too numerous and too burdensome acquisitions slip incessantly from their mind, and are not replaced.Their mental vigour has declined, their fertile capacity forgrowth has dried up, the fully-developed man appears, and he isoften a used-up man. Settled down, married, resigned to turningin a circle, and indefinitely in the same circle, he shuts himselfup in his confined function, which he fulfils adequately, but nothing more. Such is the average yield;He, too, after having noted that our education merely produces narrow-minded bourgeois, lacking in initiative and willpower, or anarchists（中国现在的教育制度及其面对的问题和19世纪法国的教育现状几乎一模一样；对法国现在的教育制度与现状感兴趣，找机会查）Chapter IIThe Immediate Factors of the Opinions of Crowds.The power of words is bound up with the images they evoke,and is quite independent of their real significance；Words whosesense is the most ill-defined are sometimes those that possessthe most influence. Such, for example, are the terms democracy,socialism, equality, liberty, etc., whose meaning is so vague thatbulky volumes do not suffice to precisely fix it. Yet it is certainthat a truly magical power is attached to those short syllables, asif they contained the solution of all problems. They synthesisethe most diverse unconscious aspirations and the hope of theirrealisation.（费孝通先生有类似表述）By many they are considered as natural forces,as supernatural powers. They evoke grandiose and vague images in men's minds, but this very vagueness that wraps them in obscurity augments their mysterious power. They are the mysterious ；divinities hidden behind the tabernacle, which thedevout only approach in fear and trembling；The images evoked by words being independent of theirsense, they vary from age to age and from people to people, theformulas remaining identicalArmed with a small stock of formulas and commonplaces learnt while we are young, we possess all that is needed to traverse life without the tiring necessity of having to reflect on anything whatever（love it，这该算是人类的天性，没有人可以避免只能改善，即使意识到了）A republic at that epoch was an essentially aristocratic institution,formed of a reunion of petty despots ruling over a crowd ofslaves kept in the most absolute subjection. These communalaristocracies, based on slavery, could not have existed for amoment without it.（和BBC：古罗马的衰落，一样，古罗马的共和制在今天看来就是一个建立在贵族内部民主统治上的奴隶制，甚至比当时中国的制度要原始很多，但是文艺复兴改变了它的内涵，将所谓的民主扩大化以反对君主制；不过对西方那种对艺术的追求倒是影响挺深刻：特别是在古罗马君主尼奥和希特勒身上，简而言之，都是一群疯子）We merely put the images and ideas with which modern life has endowed our intelligence in the place of absolutely distinct notions and images which ancient life had brought into being in the mind of races submitted to conditions of existence having no analogy with our ownthe first duty of the true statesman is to change the words without, of course, laying hands on the things themselves；the latter being too intimately bound up with the inherited constitution to be transformed.The judicious Tocqueville long ago made the remark that thework of the consulate and the empire? consisted more particularlyin the clothing with new words of the greater part of theinstitutions of the past—that is to say, in replacing words evokingdisagreeable images in the imagination of the crowd byother words of which the novelty prevented such evocations.§2. IllusionsNot truth, but error has always been the chief factor in the evolution of nationsThe masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error, if error seduce them.Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.The opinion of the crowd was formed in this case by those rough-and-readyassociations of dissimilar things（well ,赤裸裸的真理类似与赤裸裸的美女，不能轻易被公开接受，一个完全的事实可能是谁也不想看见的，即使将某些真相摆在大众面前，也得不到接受；就像一个官员和农民产生矛盾，舆论会绝对性的倒向农民，几乎没有任何可以解释的空间，官逼民反；这几乎也是一个不可克服的…带偏见的人类特点）§4. ReasonThe orators who know how to make animpression upon them always appeal in consequence to theirsentiments and never to their reason.Should it be regretted that crowds are never guided by reason?We would not venture to affirm it（理性并不比感性更值得赞扬，这也对；说这个世界是物质的世界并不比说这个世界是精神的世界更对；冲动或许是一种不理智，但是不理智的后果不一定比理智坏；这彷佛蕴含着一种生活哲学：积极的生活态度和消极的生活态度最终都将平等的面对死亡；但是人生的统一标准时死亡，更多的时候，很多事物其实都没有标准，或许有很多荒谬的标准；有时候，想象自己的一举一动都被上帝看在眼里，心里会有一种极度的满足感，信仰上帝的人可能都是内心需要爱的孤独的人；忽然觉得现在的中国，其实极度需要基督教来解决社会矛盾；但是中国却是一个曾经被欺负以至盲目惯性抵制外来宗教的国家，也是一个没有宗教信仰的国家；或许有一天，基督教会成为中国最大的宗教，i guess；佛教教人忍受肉体上的痛苦，寄希望于来世；基督教却更能拯救人的精神空虚；但是基督教精神的缺点可能也是让人丧失创新、前进的斗志：这可能是一切宗教或宗教性质的思想或教条主义的共同特点，想要获得精神的平和宁静就必须牺牲思想的丰富与棱角）Without a doubt human reason would not have availed to spur humanity along the path of civilisation with the ardour and hardihood its illusions havedone（到像是辨证法，disgusting )It is not by reason, but most often in spite of it, that are created those sentiments that are the mainsprings of all civilisation—sentimentssuch as honour, self-sacrifice, religious faith, patriotism, and thelove of glory.Chapter IIIThe Leaders of Crowds and Their Means of Persuasion.§ 1 . The Leaders of Crowds.The leaders we speak of are more frequently men of action than thinkers(忘了是谁提出的，群体运动的领导大致要经历三个阶段：理论阶段及行动阶段还有一个什么阶段？）Contempt and persecution do not affect them, or only serve to excite them the more. They sacrifice their personal interest, their family—everything（谬论只要坚持，也能变成真理；想起了the apprentice中the kiss legend 的表现：如果错了，就错得彻底，轻易承认自己的错误意味着轻易放弃，当大家都错的时候就变成正确的了；想起“认知失衡”的实验：世界末日的预言落空后的群体表现）If in consequence of some accident or other the leaders should be removed from the scene the crowd returns to its original state of a collectivity without cohesion or force of resistanceThe persistent will-force they possess is an immensely rare and immensely powerful faculty to which everything yields；Nothing resists it;neither nature, gods, nor man（勒庞彷佛在希特勒半个世纪以前，就为他描绘出了他的命运，整本书彷佛都在分析希特勒；世界历史上绝大多数的领导人物在一定程度上应该和希特勒都差不多，不过希特勒失败了，所以他被彻底的进行分析甚至过分分析；不过从他的自传中也可以看出，他的疯狂确实够典型：极度的幼稚与宗教狂热；这种人在混乱的急剧变化的时代是极其危险的人物：想起了电影（七宗罪）（阿甘正传）以及《中国现代化得陷阱中》的那个杜润琼，引起社会震动的都是些不正常思维的人）§2. The Means of Action of the Leaders: Affirmation,Repetition, ContagionAffirmation pure and simple, kept free of all reasoning and allproof, is one of the surest means of making an idea enter the mind of crowdsThe conciser an affirmation is, the more destituteof every appearance of proof and demonstration, the more weight it carries.It was Napoleon, I believe, who said that there is only one figure inrhetoric of serious importance, namely, repetition.The thingaffirmed comes by repetition to fix itself in the mind in such away that it is accepted in the end as a demonstrated truth.（反复灌输至不证自明的真理-文化大革命）（反复的灌输，让其进入无意识状态，最高境界应该是让被灌输对象相信这些信息是他自己思想的产物，让之成为一种信仰；广告的也有类似的作用）勒庞（人及其社会）："Man, like animals, has a natural tendency to imitation.Imitation is a necessity for him, provided always that the imitationis quite easy. It is this necessity that makes the influence ofwhat is called fashion so powerful. Whether in the matter ofopinions, ideas, literary manifestations, or merely of dress, howmany persons are bold enough to run counter to the fashion? Itis by examples not by arguments that crowds are guided. Atevery period there exists a small number of individualities whichreact upon the remainder and are imitated by the unconsciousmass. It is needful, however, that these individualities shouldnot be in too pronounced disagreement with received ideas.Were they so, to imitate them would be too difficult and theirinfluence would be nil. For this very reason men who are toosuperior to their epoch are generally without influence upon it.The line of separation is too strongly marked. For the same reason,too, Europeans, in spite of all the advantages of their civilisation,have so insignificant an influence on Eastern people;they differ from them to too great an extent."The dual action of the past and of reciprocal imitation renders,in the long run, all the men of the same country and thesame period so alike that even in the case of individuals whowould seem destined to escape this double influence, such asphilosophers, learned men, and men of letters, thought andstyle have a family air which enables the age to which theybelong to be immediately recognised. It is not necessary to talkfor long with an individual to attain to a thorough knowledge ofwhat he reads, of his habitual occupations, and of the surroundingsamid which he lives."§3. PrestigeFor a modern reader the perusal（研究） of Homerresults in contestably in immense boredom; but who would ventureto say so? The Parthenon（巴台农神庙）, in its present state, is a wretchedruin, utterly destitute of interest, but it is endowed with suchprestige that it does not appear to us as it really is, but with all itsaccompaniment of historic memories. The special characteristicof prestige is to prevent us seeing things as they are and to entirelyparalyse our judgment."I had observed, under various circumstances, the peculiar sort of intoxicationproduced in the most reasonable Englishmen by the contact or sightof an English peer."Provided his fortune enables him to keep up his rank, he is sure of theiraffection in advance, and brought into contact with him they are so enchantedas to put up with anything at his hands. They may be seen to redden withpleasure at his approach, and if he speaks to them their suppressed joyincreases their redness, and causes their eyes to gleam with unusual brilliance.”（这也可以用来预想国民党-这个曾经的执政党的潜在巨大影响力，百足之虫，死而不僵，如果有一天会出现两个政党，国民党会是最有可能的那个；这也符合中国人追求名正言顺的道理）Thoroughly conscious of his prestige, Napoleon was aware that he added toit by treating rather worse than stable lads（偶像是不能亲密接触的；过多的暴露自己对一个领导来说是危险的，领袖需要神秘气息，特别是狂热分子的领袖，For the crowd to admire, it must be kept at a distance；越超出常规，在一点程度上来说，更会让大众痴迷；领袖不能自我怀疑，更不能表露自我怀疑）（伟人和疯子，可能只是结果上的差异；成功会带来一切不合理行为的不言而明的合理解释，而失败只会夸大一切不合理行为并诋毁合理行为）Every successful man,every idea that forces itself into recognition, ceases, ipso facto,to be called in question.每个成功者，每个观念，仅仅因为成功这一事实，就不在受到怀疑The hero whom the crowd acclaimed yesterday isinsulted today should he have been overtaken by failure. Thereaction, indeed, will be the stronger in proportion as the prestigehas been great. The crowd in this case considers the fallenhero as an equal, and takes its revenge for having bowed to asuperiority whose existence it no longer admits.（虎落平阳被犬欺，名望越大，失势时受到的攻击可能会越大；因为人们可能会对自己过去臣服或崇拜的对象有一种报复心理；失败者典型的心理就是对成功者失势时的幸灾乐祸，当然，如果这个人和他没有半点关系，他可能也会产生人类最美好的同情）（losing is a bitch-donald trump)Chapter IVThere are great difficulties in the way of establishing a generalbelief, but when it is definitely implanted its power is for along time to come invincible, and however false it be philosophicallyit imposes itself upon the most luminous intelligenceAs soon as a new dogma is implanted in the mind of crowds it becomes the source of inspiration whence are evolved its institutions,arts, and mode of existence. The sway it exerts over men's minds under these circumstances is absolute. Men of action have no thought beyond realising the accepted belief, legislators beyond applying it, while philosophers, artists, and men of letters are solely preoccupied with its expression under various shapes.（当所有人都认为正确的时候，就是应该小心的时候）Men are guided in their conduct above all by their beliefs and by the customs that are the consequence ofthose beliefsA conspiracy may overthrow a tyrant, but what can it avail against a firmly established belief?The only real tyrants that humanity has known have always been the memories of its dead or the illusions it has forged itself.The task of the philosopher is to investigate what it is which subsists of ancient beliefs beneath their apparent changes, and to identify amid the moving flux of opinions the part determined by general beliefs and the genius of the race.The weakening of general beliefs clears the ground for a crop of haphazard opinions without a past or a future.Formerly it might have been correct to say that politics were not a matter of sentiment. Can the same be said today, when politics are more and more swayed by the impulse of changeable crowds, who are uninfluenced by reason and can only be guided by sentiment?（这也是中国现在的状况，让舆论主导了政府而不是法律；舆论主导也没有错，但是舆论有时会是情绪化和不理性的产物；可以说，网络舆论可以很容易被诱导；政府的做法是一种不负责任的行为）Could anything postpone for a while the hour of its ruin, it would be preciselythe extreme instability of the opinions of crowds and their growingindifference with respect to all general beliefs.（虽然是极度不相信，但是不妨作为一个观点）（注意自己不要因为过多的赞同而导致盲目）BOOK IIIThe Classification and Description of the Different Kinds of Crowds"The individual in question, a cook out of work, whose chief reason for being at the Bastille was idle curiosity as to what was going on, esteems（谓）, that since such is the general opinion, the action is patriotic and even believes he deserves a medal for having destroyed a monster. With a sword that is lent him he strikes the bared neck, but the weapon being somewhat blunt and not cutting, he takes from his pocket a small black-handled knife and (in his capacity of cook he would be experienced in cutting up meat) successfully effects the operation."（事实上的犯罪可能在心理上并没有犯罪；类似于电影死亡实验的场景以及心理学上的电击实验，也类似于Nazi；但是日本排除在外，日本是一个奇怪的民族，为什么和德国的差异会有那么大的差异。查）（宁愿被排斥也不要轻易让群体、组织决定自己的行为）Chapter IIICriminal JuriesLike all crowds, juries are very strongly impressed by sentimentalconsiderations, and very slightly by argumentWithout pity for crimes of which it appears possible theymight themselves be the victims—such crimes, moreover, arethe most dangerous for societyImagine a modern freethinker miraculously transported into the midst of the Middle Ages. Doyou suppose that, after having ascertained the sovereign powerof the religious ideas that were then in force, he would havebeen tempted to attack them? Having fallen into the hands of ajudge disposed to send him to the stake, under the imputationof having concluded a pact with the devil, or of having beenpresent at the witches' sabbath, would it have occurred to himto call in question the existence of the devil or of the sabbath?It were as wise to oppose cyclones with discussion as the beliefsof crowds."In an era of equality," Tocqueville justlyremarks, "men have no faith in each other on account of theirbeing all alike; yet this same similitude gives them an almostlimitless confidence in the judgment of the public, the reasonbeing that it does not appear probable that, all men beingequally enlightened, truth and numerical superiority should notgo hand in hand."The explanation is that their science is only a very attenuated form ofour universal ignorance. With regard to social problems, owingto the number of unknown quantities they offer, men are substantially,equally ignorant.（喜欢的评论）当一个群体成员有很深的自我见解或利益代表：如议会中代表不同的利益的成员；这时群体的影响可能就会大打折扣Men forming a crowd cannot do without a master, whence it results that the votes of an assembly only represent, as a rule, the opinions of a small minority.（领袖地位越牢固，群体意见越倾向于来源于领袖本人In consequence the leader endowed with sufficient prestigewields almost absolute power.对文化大革命中的个人崇拜）It is all to the interest of the leaders to indulge in the most improbable exaggerationsit is precisely those whose intelligence has been the most restricted who have exercised the greatest influenceThe work of a crowd is always inferior, whatever its nature, to that of an isolated individual《乌合之众：大众心理研究》勒庞（《民族演化德尔心理规律》也是其书，优先阅读）群体在智力上总是低于孤立的个人，但是从感情及其激起的行动的角度看，群体可以比个人表现得更好或更差，这完全看环境如何（观念）每一种文明都是屈指可数的几个基本观念的产物，这些观念很少受到革新。历史大动荡就是这些观念引起的。给群体提供的无论是什么观念，只有当他们具有绝对的。毫不妥协的和简单明了的形式时，才能产生有效的影响。（WHY？马克思不是很抽象吗）观念只有采取简单明了的形式，才能被群体接受，因此它必须经过一番彻底的改造，才能变得通俗易懂；当我们面对的是有些高深莫测的哲学或科学观念时，我们尤其会看到，为了适应群体低劣的智力水平，对他们需要进行多么深刻的改造（马克思主义是最好的例子以至于现在都还没适应我的智力水平…也可以理解为故作高深）这些改造取决于群体或群体所属的种族的性质，不过其一般趋势都是观念的低俗化和简单化。实际上他仍处在以往观念的影响之下，他们已经变成了一种情感；只有这种观念影响着我们的言行举止最隐秘的动机当观念通过不同的方式，终于深入到群体的头脑之中并产生一系列效果时，和它对抗时徒劳的。（引发法国大革命的那些哲学观念，花了将近一个世纪才深入群众的心中。一旦他们变得根深蒂固，其不可抗拒的威力尽人皆知）让观念在群众的脑袋里扎根需要很长时间，而根除它们所需要的时间也短不了多少。*（群体的理性）群体推理的特点，是把彼此不同，只在表面上相似的事物搅在一起，并且立刻把具体的事物普遍化（现在不行了？比如：网络群体的成员构成复杂；怎样诱导控制网络舆论？）（群体的想象力）高深的观念必须经过改造才能被群众所接受；观念的社会影响与它是否包含真理无关；群体不受理性的影响，且只具有十分地下的推理能力；它所接受的观念只有表面上的相似性和连续性；群体易受神奇事物的感动，神奇事物是文明的真正支柱；民众的想象力士政客的权力基础正像缺乏确立能力的人一样，群体形象化的想象力不但强大而活跃，并且非常敏感。如果掌握群众的想象力呢？我们很快就会知道。这里我们只需说明，要想掌握这种本领，万万不可求助于智力或推理，也就是说，，绝对不可以采用论证的方式。不管刺激群众想象力的是什么，采取的形式都是令人吃惊的鲜明形象，并且没有任何多余的解释。影响民众想象力的并不是事实本身，而是他们发生和引起注意的方式；必须对他们进行浓缩加工，它们才会形成一种令人瞠目结舌的惊人形象（这让人想起了网络群体，基本上是弱势群体会在网络上“毫无理由”地成为正确的一方，这正符合了作者对于群体想象力的定义；《公众舆论》《交流的无奈》或多或少都涉及这这方面）群体信仰所采取的宗教形式信念的强大是因为它采取了宗教的形式；宗教形式的无神论；历史上的大事件都是群体宗教感情而非孤立的个人意志的结果一切宗教或政治信条的创立者所以能够立住脚，界因为他们成功地激起了群众想入非非的感情，他们使群众在崇拜和服从中，找到了自己的幸福，随时准备为自己的偶像赴汤蹈火。（和狂热分子不谋而合，共产党是怎样领导的？）群众不管需要别的什么，他们首先需要一个上帝在同理性永恒的冲突中，失败的从来都不是感情一切政治、神学、或社会信条，要想在群众中扎根，都必须采取宗教的形式-能够把危险的讨论排除在外的形式。他在某一天受到理性之光的启发，撕碎了小教堂祭坛上一切神仙和圣人的画像，他吹灭蜡烛，立刻用无神论哲学家-比如希纳-的著作代替了那些被破坏的物品，然后他又虔诚地点燃了蜡烛。(尼采的超人学说？但是，一个人如果真的没有任何信仰，那是我很难接受的）事件中的血腥、混乱和残忍一而让他感到惊恐，但是他从那部伟大戏剧的英雄身上，很少能够看到还有一群癫狂道德野蛮人肆意妄为，对自己的本能丝毫不加约束。（法国大革命）这场革命的暴烈，它的肆意屠杀，它对宣传的需要，它象一切事物发出的战争宣言，只有当认识到这场革命不过是一种新宗教信仰在群众中的建立时，才会得到恰当的解释。（想起斯大林：死一个人是悲剧，死一百万人是数据）*群体的意见与信念群体信念的准备性因素。（1）种族。（2）传统。种族精神的综合反映；群体是传统最坚定的维护者。（3）时间。它建立信念，也毁灭信念（4）政治和社会制度。理论上不好的制度，对某些民族确实必要的。（5）教育没有传统，文明史不可能的；没有对这些传统的破坏，进步也是不可能的。死抱着传统观念不妨，极其顽固地反对变革传统观念的，正是群体。我坚持认为群体具有保守主义精神，并且指出，最狂暴的反叛最终最终也只会造成一些嘴皮子上的变化。*政治和社会制度各民族是受着他们自己的性格支配的，凡是与这种性格不合的模式，都不过是一件借来的外套，一种暂时的伪装。*教育国家用教科书制造出这么多有文凭的人，然而它只能利用其中的一小部分，于是只好让另一些人无事可做。因此，它只把饭碗留给先来的，剩下的没有得到职位的人便全部成了国家的敌人。被选中的人数是有限的，因此肯定有大量心怀不满的人。他们随时会参与任何革命，不管它的头领是谁，也不管它有什么目标。可以说，掌握一些派不上用场的知识，是让人造反的不二法门（和《狂热分子》差不多的语气；不过明显作者具有明显的偏见和自己的价值取向）（对于当时，类似于中国现在的，死记硬背式的法国教育，作者引用了泰纳先生的话）：在那一天的那一两个小时里，他们或许正确或接近正确，但用不了一个月，他们便不再是这样。他们不可能再通过考试。他们脑子里那些过多的、过于沉重的；所学不断流失，且没有新东西补充进去。他们的精神活力衰退了，他们继续成长的能力枯竭了，一个得到充分发展的人出现了，然而它也是个精疲力竭的人。他成家立业，落入生活的俗套，而只要落入这种俗套，他就会把自己封闭在狭隘的职业中，工作也许还算本分，但仅此而已。这就是平庸的生活。（什么生活才算不平庸？）*群体意见的直接因素词语的力量与它所唤起的形象有关，但独立于它的真正含义；在所有文明的起源中都发现幻觉；只有经验能够使必要的真理在群众中生恨；词语的威力与它们所唤醒的形象有关，同时又独立于它们的真实含义。最不明确的词语，有时反而影响最大。例如民主、社会主义、平等、自由等等，它们的含义极为模糊，即使一大堆专著也不足以确定它们的所指。然而这区区几个词语的确有着神奇的威力，它们似乎是解决一切问题的灵丹妙药。各种潜意识中的抱负及其实现的希望，全被它们集于一身。（和我观察到得中国对自由的泛化解释现象及得出的结论差不多）说理和论证战胜不了一些词语和套话。只要一听到它们，人人都会肃然起敬，俯首而立。许多人把他们当做自然的力量，甚至是超自然的力量。他们在人们心中唤起宏伟壮丽的幻想，也正是它们的模糊不清，使他们有了神秘的力量。它们是藏在圣坛背后的神灵，信众只能诚惶诚恐地来到他们面前。（典型）有些语言，包含的特定词语子在时代中变迁得极慢，而这些词语所唤起的形象，或人们赋予他们的含义，却不停地发生着变化。（对于古书）我们不过是在用现在生活赋予我们的一些形象和观念代替另一些不同的形象和观念，他们是存在于古代一些种族的头脑中的产物，这些人的生活状况和我们没有任何相似之处。词语只有变动不定的暂时定义，它随着时代和民族不同而不同。（《孔子改制考》就是这一类的现象，赋予旧的词语新的思想）用新名词代替那些能够让群众想起不利形象的名称，因为他们的新鲜能防止这种联想。“地租”变成“土地税”，“盐赋”变成“盐税”，商号或行会的税款变成了执照费，如此等等。（换汤不换药、中国特色社会主义代替资本主义）政治家最基本的任务之一，就是对流行用语，或至少对再没有人感兴趣、民众已经不能容忍其就有名称的事物保持警觉。*幻觉推动各民族演化的主要原因，永远不是真理，而是谬误。（理由？）群众从来界没有渴望过真理，面对那些不合口味的证据，他们会拂袖而去，假如谬论对他们有诱惑力，他们更愿意崇拜谬论，凡是能向他们供应幻觉的，也可以很容易地成为他们的主人，凡是让他们幻灭的，都会成为他们的牺牲品（LOVE IT ）*理性让群众相信什么，首先得搞清楚让他们兴奋的感情，并且装出自己也有这种感情的样子，然后以很低级的组合方式，用一些非常著名的暗示性概念去改变它们的看法。PS:将不喜欢的人放在心上挂着是对其估价过高及对自己生命的一种消耗；这些问题不应该在考虑范围之类，甚至不应该有考虑这个无聊问题的念头；成为陌生人就可以简化和解决所有问题；做一个不想发生冲突的人，但并不是一个没有原则的人，慢慢地探明引起某种说法的感情。*群体领袖及其说服的方法一切群体动物都有着服从头领的本能需要；我们所说的领袖，更有可能是实干家而非思想家。在那些神经有毛病的、好兴奋的、半癫狂的即处在疯子边缘的人中间，尤其容易产生这种人物。

作者前言里面作出几项判断：1. 遗传赋予同一种族内的个体某些共同的特征（民族气质），当个体聚集为群体时就表现出新的心理特征；2. 群体的无意识行为代替了个体的有意识行为是目前这个时代的特征；3.社会组织就像一起生命有机体一样复杂，人类的有限理性不可能完全洞察所有因果关系，并强迫作出重大变革；4. 从复杂社会现象的观察入手，了解群体无意识背后的力量。上述观点与凯文凯利的“蜂群思维”接近。每只蜜蜂只是考虑和完成自己的工作，看似杂乱无章的过程中，整个蜂群却“涌现”出个体所不具有的新特征。对社会哲学的研究，都有一个共同的前提：你怎么看待人及其组织的社会？怎么看待社会的复杂性？