The concept of "collective consciousness" was introduced into scientific circulation by Emile Durkheim. He made it clear that he does not spiritualize or sacralize this concept, for him "collective" is simply something that is common to many people, i.e. social fact. And social facts exist objectively and do not depend on the subjective desires of individual individuals.
Durkheim's Theory
The concept of "collective consciousness" was introduced into scientific circulation by Durkheim in his books "On the division of social labor" (1893), "Rules of the sociological method" (1895), "Suicide" (1897) and "Elementary forms of religious life" (1912). In "Division of Labor" Durkheim argued the following. In traditional/primitive societies (based on clan, family, or tribal relationships), totemic religion has played an important role in bringing members together through the creation of a collective consciousness. In societies of this type, the content of the individual's consciousness is largely shared with all othermembers of society, creates a mechanical solidarity in mutual likeness.
In "Suicide" Durkheim developed the concept of anomie to refer to social rather than individual causes of suicide. This refers to the concept of collective consciousness: if there is no integration or solidarity in a society, then the suicide rate will be higher. At one time, this theory was disputed by many, but time has shown that it still works.
How the collective consciousness holds society together
What unites society? This was the main question Durkheim posed when he wrote about the new industrial societies of the nineteenth century. By looking at the documented habits, customs, and beliefs of traditional and primitive societies and comparing them with what he saw around him in his own life, Durkheim created one of the most important theories in sociology. He concluded that society exists because individuals feel a sense of solidarity with each other. That is why we can create teams and work together to build an efficient and comfortable society. The source of this solidarity is precisely the collective consciousness or "collective conscience", as he wrote in French. His influence is inevitable, and it is impossible to hide from him in any society.
Durkheim introduced the "collective consciousness" into scientific circulation in his 1893 book "On the division of social labor". Later, he also relied on it in other books, including The Rulessociological method”, “Suicide” and “Elementary forms of religious life”. However, in his first book, he explains that this phenomenon is a set of beliefs and feelings common to all members of society. Durkheim observed that in traditional or primitive societies, religious symbols, discourse, beliefs, and rituals contributed to the emergence of a collective consciousness. In such cases, where social groups were fairly homogeneous (for example, of the same race or class), this phenomenon led to what Durkheim called "mechanical solidarity" - in fact, the automatic binding of people into a collective through their common values, beliefs and practices.
Durkheim noticed that in the modern industrial societies that characterized Western Europe and the young United States, functioning through the division of labor, there appeared an "organic solidarity" based on the mutual dependence that individuals and groups experienced in relation to each other, which allowed industrial society to function. In such cases, religion still plays an important role in creating a collective consciousness among groups of people associated with different religions, but other social institutions and structures will also work to create it.
The role of social institutions
These institutions include the state (which promotes patriotism and nationalism), the popular media (which spread all sorts of ideas and practices: how to dress, who to vote for, when to give birthchildren and marriage), education (which instills in us basic social standards and binds us to a separate class), and the police and judiciary (which shape our ideas of right and wrong, and guide our behavior through threat or actual physical force). Rituals serve to affirm a collective conscious range from parades and holiday celebrations to sporting events, weddings, grooming according to gender norms, and even shopping. And there's no getting away from it.
The team is more important than the individual
In any case, it doesn't matter whether we are talking about primitive or modern societies - the collective consciousness is something "common to all", as Durkheim put it. This is not an individual condition or phenomenon, but a social one. As a social phenomenon, it "disperses throughout society" and "has a life of its own." Thanks to him, values, beliefs and traditions can be passed down through generations. While individuals live and die, this set of intangibles and their associated social norms is entrenched in our institutions and therefore exists independently of individuals.
The most important thing is to understand that the collective consciousness is the result of social forces that are external to the individual. Individuals that make up a society work and live together, creating a social phenomenon of a common set of beliefs, values and ideas that permeatesociety is its very essence. We as individuals internalize them and make the collective mind a reality.
Other values
Various forms of what might be called collective consciousness in contemporary societies have been identified by other sociologists such as Mary Kelsey, who has explored a wide range of issues from solidarity and memes to extreme forms of behavior such as groupthink, herd behavior or collectively shared experiences during communal rituals or dance parties. Mary Kelsey, a professor of sociology at the University of California at Berkeley, used the term in the early 2000s to describe people in a social group, such as mothers, who are aware of their commonalities and circumstances and achieve a sense of collective solidarity as a result.
Coding Type Theory
According to this theory, the nature of the collective consciousness depends on the type of mnemonic coding used within the group. A particular type of coding has a predictable effect on group behavior and collective ideology. Informal groups that meet infrequently and spontaneously tend to present significant aspects of their community as episodic memories. This usually results in strong social cohesion and solidarity, an indulgent atmosphere, and the emergence of shared ideals.
Public collective consciousness
Society is made up of various collective groups such as families, communities, organizations, regions, countries, which, according to Burns,"may have the same abilities for all: think, judge, decide, act, reform, conceptualize themselves and other subjects, as well as interact with themselves, reflect." Burns and Egdahl note that during World War II different peoples treated their Jewish populations differently. The Jewish population of Bulgaria and Denmark survived, while most of the Jewish communities in Slovakia and Hungary did not survive the Holocaust. It is assumed that these different forms of behavior of entire nations differ depending on the different collective consciousness, individual for each people separately. These differences, as can be seen in this example, can have practical implications.
Sport and national pride
Edmans, Garcia, and Norley studied national sports losses and correlated them with declining stock prices. They analyzed 1,162 football matches in thirty-nine countries and found that the stock markets of those countries fell an average of 49 points after they were excluded from the World Cup and 31 points after they were excluded from other tournaments. Edmans, Garcia and Norley found similar but smaller effects associated with international tournaments in cricket, rugby, hockey and basketball.
