Korean War Battle of Chosin Reservoir: The British casualties in one day in the battle of the Somme during WWI were 50,000 dead and wounded. 50,000 casualties in one day – patriotism & esprit de corps – is a very solid proof that there is a “psychology of groups.”
Why is the Battle of Chosin Reservoir important?
Preface: Materialist dogma – “There is no psychology of groups” (Allport 1927): “Psychologists who study groups approach the idea of a group as an entity only very gingerly. The field, or members of the field, apparently still feel the sting of Allport’s (1927) remonstration of those who were attracted to McDougall’s idea of “group mind.” ([Modern textbook] Hazel Markus, Shinobu Kitayama, Rachel Heiman, the authors of the chapter Culture and “Basic” Psychological Principles, of the Social Psychology Handbook of Basic Principles)
Esprit de Corps and Patriotism as a form of social consciousness and as a “psychology of groups”
While I write quite a bit on transcendental spirituality such as the spirituality of grieving or autistic spirituality, I write more about social consciousness than anything else I believe (which is consistent with theologian’s views on prophecy – for record). I believe my first discussion on academia.edu on social consciousness was in 2018. I came across the argument by an anthropologist that social consciousness is an ontological reality – the nature of being. The British casualties in one day in the battle of the Somme was 50,000 – that is NOT “the nature of being” – but a very powerful force.