Who are the Public? Public Sphere, Opinions, Moods & History

Who are the public? What is public opinion, public moods? Philosophers Thomas Hobbes, Jurgen Habermas (The Public Sphere), John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alexis de Toqueville and J.S. Mill among others have all conceptualise the public in a certain way. But what if the public are not who they seem? Polling, the birth of Gallup (I look at its history), statistics and mass consumer society and mass democracy have all changed how the public are thought of. I look at this history and try to think about how it affects politics.
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Sources
Jodi Dean, Publicity’s Secret
Hans, Speier, Historical Development of Public Opinion, www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi...
Sarah Igo, The Averaged American
Democracy and the Concept of Public Opinion, John G. Gunnell, The Oxford Handbook of American Public Opinion and the Media
Worcester, Robert M. "Pollsters, the Press, and Political Polling in Britain." The Public Opinion Quarterly 44, no. 4 (1980): 548-66. www.jstor.org/stable/2748471.
Mark Roodhouse, ‘Fish and Chip Intelligence’: Henry Durant and the British Institute of Public Opinion, 1936-1963
M. Heidegger, Being and Time
Ringmar, Erik. “What Are Public Moods?” European Journal of Social Theory 21, no. 4 (November 2018): 453-69. doi:10.1177/1368431017736995.
CREDITS
Heidegger Image:
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Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
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[@user-gs8kw8tr4r]

As usual...eloquent, revealing, and informative. I particularly like to ponder the issue of becoming or being authentic while still being in a world immersed by 'The They'.

[@bobjohnson6917]

I love how many philosophical authors you incorporate into one video. I am trying to read a lot of them right now myself.

[@meezanlmt]

Can you drop reading list people ? I would appreciate it.

[@ShrimpBarbarian]

Cuck Philosophy and Contrapoints are good at overviewing the post-Modernists, and the Frankfurt School without getting involved in the pseudo-fascist fluff that exists on KZbin. If you listen to Podcasts Philosophize This is great as well for virtually everything.

[@bobjohnson6917]

@@ShrimpBarbarian They are good for avoiding the neo-facists. Although, if someone wants a comprehensive understanding of these ways of thinking, and wants to discuss these topics in detail, reading is the most efficient way to do so.

[@ShrimpBarbarian]

@@bobjohnson6917 Of course, that goes without saying. :) I'm just pointing to some credible entry points.

[@bobjohnson6917]

@@ShrimpBarbarian don't get me wrong, I love Cuck philosophy and especially Contrapoints, their discourse and aesthetics are incredibly thoughtful and ingenious.

[@wcropp1]

Great job on the cinematic aspects of these videos. I love the content as well, but I just thought I’d mention my appreciation of the aesthetics, as they are often given less attention. Well done.

[@romanovrex]

Great video. The internet is a new factor, political stances become amplified in like minded groupings, conspiracies are thrown around, the silent majority is electric with chatter.

[@impremanshu]

Keep it up. Thanks for this beautiful description. Pls continue this channel as long as possible. Cheers 👍

[@tannerhagen774]

Great work! Kierkegaard’s “The Present Age” would have been a fine addition to this video.

[@dr.shyamchoithani265]

Brilliantly conceptualized video. Thank you.

[@seanwieland9763]

Would be interested in a follow up video based on Edward Bernays and manufacturing Public Opinion (aka Propaganda), as well as the ascent in the 20th century of the role of Academia in the design of Public Opinion as “thought leaders”, “brain trusts?, and vanguards.

[@elliotreeves7579]

your videos are so soothing somehow.

[@PopVersus]

Great job!

[@THEVL0GPOD]

Brilliant as always, however, I know it’s not the main thrust of the video but I don’t think Rousseau’s engagement with the notion of the public is properly portrayed. His view of amore propre which is the behaviour and image of oneself cultivated in recognition of oneself as a member of a public forms a vital part of his critical literature. But lots of love for your content as always, a nice break to my library session!

[@andye5851]

Excellent

[@QuetzalOvejasElectricas]

Brilliant as always.

[@justgivemethetruth]

Really seems like "the public" should really be "the public good" and it should include all, the past people, the present people, the future people, and even the planet and all life on the planet. "The public" in terms of the collection of all citizens of all countries should be the caretakers and responsible representitives of that wider, broader, and more abstract public.

[@Liliquan]

Sufficient description, lacking criticism.

[@leonelpolo9808]

Si pudieras subtitular los vídeos te agradeceria.

[@TheLabecki]

I think the question is "What is the Public?" "Public" is singular and it is not a person.

[@eternaldelight648]

I propose this as the Video of the Year! (Get that, Google)

[@golgarisoul]

But what is the alternative? How can organizations take massive polls, while being simultaneously open and transparent? This sounds like a depressing catch 22.

[@mitchellkato1436]

Perhaps there are no core understanding of philosophy in general. That is to say philosophy is decentered. A reader does not have a simple summary of the ideas. A feel of nihilism. Not negation but lack of central idea.