Статья «ЖИЗНЬ И «ПСИХОЛОГИИ» ДОКТОРА ГЮСТАВА ЛЕБОНА, "Вопросы истории естествознания и техники"»

This paper analyzes the scientific work of Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931), a social psychologist and experimenter, well-known in the 19 and 20 century. The medical, psychological and natural-science themes were curiously intertwined in his works, which was quite typical for the European science of that time. Therefore textual and comparative analysis of Le Bon’s works enables to identify the cross-cutting and central scientific and political problems that interested both the scholars and their audiences about a hundred years ago. As for Le Bon himself, he ranked among the conservative scholars who were opposed to the democratic processes in Western European countries in the late 19 - early 20 century. His “intellectual shield” against democratization was forged from the crowd psychology, racism, and elitism, and was extensively used by both the adversaries of democratization and those who manipulated with it to pursue their own interests.