Art: Egregor, Mass Psychosis: Group Think
Iona Teegarden
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Egregore (also egregor) is an occult concept representing a
"thoughtform" or "collective group mind", an autonomous psychic entity
made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people. The
symbiotic relationship between an egregore and its group has been
compared to the more recent, non-occult concepts of the corporation
(as a legal entity) and the meme.
Contents
1 History
2 Contemporary usage
3 Examples
4 Academic psychology
5 Notes
6 References
7 See also
[edit] History
The word "egregore" derives from the Greek word, ἐγρήγοροι
(egrḗgoroi), meaning "watchers" (also transliterated "grigori"). The
word appears in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Lamentations,
[1] as well as the Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch.
Eliphas Lévi, in Le Grand Arcane ("The Great Mystery", 1868)
identifies "egregors" (sic) with the tradition concerning the fathers
of the nephilim, describing them as "terrible beings" that "crush us
without pity because they are unaware of our existence." [2]
The concept of the egregore as a group thoughtform was developed in
works of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians[3]
[citation needed] and has been referenced by writers such as Valentin
Tomberg.
[edit] Contemporary usage
Gaetan Delaforge, in Gnosis magazine in 1987, defines an egregore as a
kind of group mind which is created when people consciously come
together for a common purpose." [4]
The concept has enjoyed renewed popularity among practitioners of
Chaos Magic, following the Corporate Metabolism series of articles by
Paco Xander Nathan, which were published in 2001.
The result of a synergy of thought could be the most concise
description of this state of mind.
The notion of "egregor" also appears in Andreev's Roza Mira, where it
represents the shining cloud-like spirit associated with the Church.
It is a common belief in Russia that the word "egregor" originated
from this spiritual book.
The Russian occult movement DEIR, led by Dmitry Verischchagin, also
employs this concept.
The book "The Art of Memetics" [5] provides a detailed and multi-
faceted explication of what an egregore is, including instructions for
how to cultivate them.
[edit] Examples
Companies, political parties, religions, prayer groups, states, and
clubs all can be said to have egregores. When a project "takes on a
life of its own," an egregore might be said to be present. Symbolic
characters such as Santa Claus and Uncle Sam could be described as
egregores. Stephen King's concept of Ka-tet in The Dark Tower series
could be compared to an egregore, as well as Kurt Vonnegut's concept
of a karass in Cat's Cradle.
[edit] Academic psychology
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable
sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August
2007)
There was some debate early in the history of social psychology over
whether groups could be construed as having an autonomous group mind.
Today, psychologists recognize a number of more localized processes by
which a group of people can make decisions that no individual would
endorse on their own. In "Groupthink," a group can stifle internal
disagreement and rush people to a poor decision, without any
individual group member attempting to do so. In the "risky shift"
phenomenon, a group can agree on a course of action that is riskier
(or, in some circumstances, more conservative) than any individual in
the group wanted.
Evidence of the compliance of individuals with the intentions of a
group despite individual misgivings was evidenced in the Milgram
Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment.
When these situations arise, trying to understand the group by
understanding its members in isolation fails. The group can be
understood by modeling the members' interactions, but the human
tendency to anthropomorphize may make it more intuitive to see the
group itself as having preferences for a certain outcome, regardless
of its members' wishes.
[edit] Notes
^ Septuagint: Lamentations, Chapter 4, Verse 14
^ Lévi, Eliphas, "The Great Mystery" (1868) p.127-130, 133, 136
^ ,Fama Fraternitatis Rosae Crucis.(1614) Manifesto: Positio.
Epilogue page 25
^ Delaforge, Gaeten, "The Templar Tradition: Yesterday and Today",
Gnosis Magazine, #6, 1987.
^ Unruh, Wes "The Art of Memetics: The Magic of Applying Memetics,
Marketing, Masterminding, and & Cybernetic Theory", Website/ebook 2008
[edit] References
Bernstein, L.S. (1998). Egregor
Butler, Walter Ernest (1970). The Egregore of a School
Nathan, Paco Xander (2001). Chasing Egregors in The Scarlet
Letter, Volume VI, Number 1
Warren, Kenneth; John Guscott (2000). Archetypes, Archons and
Egregores
[edit] See also
Akashic records
Memetics
Categories: Occult
-ART-
Fascinating stuff. I think I'll call groupthinkers "Egregorists"
from now on...until the politically correct jackboots attack me!
Here's some stuff about groupthink which has been a long standing
problem on ACF among the socialist Pricelessware Cult led by Bugher
and Ron May:
http://www.geocities.com/athens/atlantis/4124/group.html
"Group-think is a most severe problem in our society. It is a serious
mental disease that has not been recognized as such. It turns members
of a group into believers and followers of rituals. They believe the
group is right and others are wrong. It reduces communication from the
group to outsiders. In serious cases of group-think, members use force
and violence to convince non-believers.
...most individuals are not aware that they suffer from group-think."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Social psychologist Irving Janis first coined the term 'group-think'
and defined eight symptoms of it listed here:
http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~fulmer/groupthink.htm
http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm
1.Illusion of Invulnerability: Members ignore obvious danger, take
extreme risk, and are overly optimistic.
2.Collective Rationalization: Members discredit and explain away
warning contrary to group thinking.
3.Illusion of Morality: Members believe their decisions are morally
correct, ignoring the ethical consequences of their decisions.
4.Excessive Stereotyping:The group constructs negative sterotypes
of rivals outside the group.
5.Pressure for Conformity: Members pressure any in the group who
express arguments against the group's stereotypes, illusions, or
commitments, viewing such opposition as disloyalty.
6.Self-Censorship: Members withhold their dissenting views and
counter-arguments.
7.Illusion of Unanimity: Members perceive falsely that everyone
agrees with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent.
8.Mindguards: Some members appoint themselves to the role of
protecting the group from adverse information that might threaten
group complacency.
-ART-
Pooh the Cat
> Group-think is a most severe problem in our society. It is a serious
> mental disease that has not been recognized as such. It turns members
> of a group into believers and followers of rituals. They believe the
> group is right and others are wrong. It reduces communication from the
> group to outsiders.
Wow! that carefully choreographed standing ovation the Tories are so adept at just flashed before my eyes.
--
Pooh the cat
Internet Terrorist, Mass Sock puppeteer, Agent provocateur, Gutter rat
Getting down on the streets, down in the sewer
troppo
news:c3a9118bebee2ab0...@rip.ax.lt:
>
> Fascinating stuff. I think I'll call groupthinkers "Egregorists"
> from now on...until the politically correct jackboots attack me!
Nothing new. The Old Testament term is "shibboleth" - something the incrowd
believes in and everyone else knows is b***s***
Doesn't have a personal noun though - "shibbolethist" does sound right ...
> [ ... ]
> Social psychologist Irving Janis first coined the term 'group-think'
> and defined eight symptoms of it listed here:
> http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~fulmer/groupthink.htm
> http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm
>
> 1.Illusion of Invulnerability: Members ignore obvious danger, take
> extreme risk, and are overly optimistic.
>
> 2.Collective Rationalization: Members discredit and explain away
> warning contrary to group thinking.
>
> 3.Illusion of Morality: Members believe their decisions are morally
> correct, ignoring the ethical consequences of their decisions.
>
> 4.Excessive Stereotyping:The group constructs negative sterotypes
> of rivals outside the group.
>
> 5.Pressure for Conformity: Members pressure any in the group who
> express arguments against the group's stereotypes, illusions, or
> commitments, viewing such opposition as disloyalty.
>
> 6.Self-Censorship: Members withhold their dissenting views and
> counter-arguments.
>
> 7.Illusion of Unanimity: Members perceive falsely that everyone
> agrees with the group's decision; silence is seen as consent.
>
> 8.Mindguards: Some members appoint themselves to the role of
> protecting the group from adverse information that might threaten
> group complacency.
Yep - a lot of it about.
-ART-
>Wow! that carefully choreographed standing ovation the Tories are so
>adept at just flashed before my eyes.
You won't find me disagreeing with that, although IMO you've chosen
a poor example.
Group-think affects every corner of our society and every political
party and every group or club of people are afflicted by it.
It is a form of cowardice where people hide their opinions for fear of
being ostracised by the group. At worst, members form a 'cult' where
the rules and group-thinking are forcefully imposed and sanctions
applied to dissenters. That is what happens under any form of socialism
whether it's called Religion, Communism, Nazism, Fascism or whatever.
Pol Pot, Hitler, Castro, Chairman Mao, Stalin, Islam et al are/were
all socialist group-thinkers who imposed their will by force. Freedom
and thinking are the enemy of these people.
That is why we think that socialism is a snake with many heads. To the
poorly informed, these groups look like different organisations, but
in reality they are just different heads of the same snake all aiming
to impose their model of society onto everybody.
We see group-think in politics, the EU, among climate scientists,
economists, journalists, the BBC, everywhere. And we see it on ACF:
the likes of Bugher and Ron May impose their rules onto the group and
anybody who dissents is killfiled and ignored and subjected to hate
campaigns. There are always plenty of cowards and +1 minions to pop-up
and provide support whenever necessary.
Is it any wonder that Pricelessware has been described as a cult?
It goes on...
-ART-
Pooh the Cat
Face it hum, this behaviour evolved, therefore those who adopted it must have had
an advantage. It must make +1's stronger. Anything that adds to a feeling of power
is good [Nietzsche]. Proof. /You/ fear it. Ha. Tough titties.
The world turns, and cares not one iota for your predicament.
-ART-
>Face it hum, this behaviour evolved, therefore those who adopted it
>must have had an advantage. It must make +1's stronger. Anything that
>adds to a feeling of power is good [Nietzsche]. Proof. /You/ fear it.
>Ha. Tough titties.
You really are dumb Stubbings. Of course group-think evolved but it's
a non-sequitur to claim that it has an advantage or makes +1's stronger.
Generally, many people do not *choose* to subscribe to group-think
...they do so because of peer/employer pressure and/or fear of the
consequences if they don't.
The countless 20th cent. socialist dictatorships are evidence of that.
Eg: under Chairman Mao, if you were educated and capable of individual
thought, you were quickly exterminated.
For others, it's a safe way of hiding themselves or hiding behind
collectivist opinion or decisions and not having to stand up and be
counted. That is why I called it a form of cowardice.
Group-think is introduced and imposed by the leaders of an organisation
(elected or not) to ensure *their* model/opinions or rules are imposed.
The global warming debate is one of the most widely known cases of
farcical group-think but actively supported by mindless morons like
Gordon Brown and his army of Marxist socialists who exist across all
walks of life: climate science, climatology, journalism, the BBC et al.
HTH
-ART-
Pooh the Cat
>
> Pooh the Cat dumped this bollix onto ACF:
> >Face it hum, this behaviour evolved, therefore those who adopted it
> >must have had an advantage. It must make +1's stronger. Anything that
> >adds to a feeling of power is good [Nietzsche]. Proof. /You/ fear it.
> >Ha. Tough titties.
>
> You really are dumb Stubbings. Of course group-think evolved but it's
> a non-sequitur to claim that it has an advantage or makes +1's stronger.
Eh! do you understand the concept of evolution?
> Generally, many people do not *choose* to subscribe to group-think
Giraffes didn't *choose* to have long necks.
> ...they do so because of peer/employer pressure and/or fear of the
> consequences if they don't.
> The countless 20th cent. socialist dictatorships are evidence of that.
> Eg: under Chairman Mao, if you were educated and capable of individual
> thought, you were quickly exterminated.
and the lesson here is?
> For others, it's a safe way of hiding themselves or hiding behind
> collectivist opinion or decisions and not having to stand up and be
> counted. That is why I called it a form of cowardice.
and the lesson here is?
Evolution favours those whose behaviour gives them a better chance of procreating,
and raising offspring. It's not driven by concepts of good, and evil. If it favoured
intelligence, bravery, honesty... there would be a lot more smart, brave, honest monkeys.
Those concepts clearly aren't as important as you want to believe.
> Group-think is introduced and imposed by the leaders of an organisation
> (elected or not) to ensure *their* model/opinions or rules are imposed.
Agreed. So? Individuals still must have benefited from being members of a group.
> The global warming debate
..is just tittle tattle faux 'political incorrectness' fed to the chattering classes, who know
shit about the issues one way or another. Not really relevant. Do stay on topic.
hummingbird
I'm not going to get drawn into an argument again with you which I end up
losing like the IP argument. Geobbels said there is no point in deploying
little lies and I agree with him so why don't you do as I do and create
the impression that I am the thought-leader in this group and read my
ideas regurgitated from back issues of the Economist and Tyndall's
Spearhead.
Group-think is introduced and imposed by the leaders of an organisation
(elected or not as in the case of Susan Bugher) to ensure *their*
model/opinions or rules are imposed on unwilling others such as Bear and
me.
In the meantime, I don't think anyone has a f*cking clue what I'm
babbling about. Do you?
hb
(the REAL hummingbird and -ART-)
"The audience is now informed"
--
Temporarily breaking cover from the Mahboonkrong MBK Center in Bangkok.