There are three steps to mass formation psychosis, and signs point to the fact that we are living through the very last stage. In this week's conversation, Ghent University's Dr. Mattias Desmet lays out his psychological theory of mass hypnosis, by which entire societies go insane and fall prey to totalitarianism. What are the conditions that bind people into collectives rather than communities? What causes a woman to hang her own child? How does an extreme minority become the status quo? We answer all these questions and, most importantly, finish on a ray of optimism - about how to balance on the knife's edge of chaos and come out whole on the other side. Support the podcast by becoming a Patron @DemystifySci ªº¬˚∆≤≥≤≥ https://www.patreon.com/demystifysci ≤≥≤≥∆˚¬ºª And by buying Dr. Desmet's book ªº¬˚∆≤≥≤≥ The Psychology of Totalitarianism: https://amzn.to/39Fiqnb≤≥≤≥∆˚¬ºª #MassFormation #MassHypnosis #MassPsychosis 00:00 Go! 00:00:43 What is the distinction between Dictatorship and Totalitarianism? 00:04:21 The center of mass in a totalitarian society is the crowd 00:09:21 How an extreme minority creates a majority 00:15:44 Why does the internet drive the hive mind? 00:19:56 Losing touch with the natural world 00:22:24 Technology isn't free 00:24:28 The three steps to chaos 00:28:57 The difference between the community and the collective 00:30:35 Reaping antisocial rewards 00:32:07 Total hypnosis requires a single voice 00:36:46 How foundational ethics come to be rewritten 00:38:31 The importance of dissenting voices 00:39:37 The dramatic consequences of silence 00:42:31 Warring totalitarian factions 00:44:56 Is there cause for optimism? 00:47:15 Solving the problem of atomization 00:48:03 How totalitarian movements fall apart 00:51:21 There is always a new crisis 00:54:11 Technocratic Totalitarianism 00:55:45 The Pitfalls of Mechanistic Thinking 00:58:26 Reality cannot be rationally apprehended 01:02:29 Closing thoughts Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://youtu.be/1OCL5Lq8m6s ªº¬˚∆≤≥≤≥ Join the mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S​ ≤≥≤≥∆˚¬ºª PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying microbial communication at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting and exploring the woods. Michael Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3uhn7J1 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/39IDJBD RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci