Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze on crowds and packs

A discussion of the works of Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze reveals some common insights into a social epistemology that rejects both methodological individualism and methodological holism. In this respect, the debate on crowds in the last quarter of the nineteenth century is particularly interesting b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of classical sociology : JCS 2010-11, Vol.10 (4), p.291-314
Main Author: Brighenti, Andrea Mubi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Crowds
Deleuze, Gilles
Epistemology
History and organization of sociology
History, theory and methodology
Holism
Individualism
Leadership
Methodology
Organization of profession, research and teaching. Deontology. Sociology of sociology. Epistemology
Personality. Social role
Sects
Social Problems
Social psychology
Sociology
Terminology
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Summary:A discussion of the works of Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze reveals some common insights into a social epistemology that rejects both methodological individualism and methodological holism. In this respect, the debate on crowds in the last quarter of the nineteenth century is particularly interesting because it is the historical context within which the individualist and holist epistemologies took shape. Arguably, that debate is still rich and inspiring today insofar as it can be said to open the problem field of the relationship between the individual and the group in social thought and sociological theory. Despite several differences, Tarde, Canetti, and Deleuze converge on a concept that can be termed ‘multiplicity’. It includes phenomena like crowds and packs (or ‘sects’, in Tarde’s terminology) that are properly speaking neither subjects nor objects. The concept provides a prism that also has relevant consequences for an understanding of the processes of imitation and leadership.
ISSN:1468-795X
1741-2897
DOI:10.1177/1468795X10379675