Groupthink. Platonism/Existentialism.

Hey guys.

So I actually wasn't planning on making a post about this, but it had me thinking a little bit too much, so I wound up wanting to see some discussion on this matter.

I was talking with a friend of mine one evening, 1am-ish as per my usual, and we got talking about Existentialism with relation to the phenomenon of Groupthink. (Don't ask how we got there, honestly. It was some long-winded conversation that ranged from talking about Lucifer and God, to the creation of fiction, to anthropology, to psychology, to responsibility, etc. I don't even know, it was late and a long discussion.)

But yes, as I said, we wound up talking about Groupthink, in which my friend was talking about his problem with existentialism was that it didn't much account for phenomenons like Groupthink. [Quick definition, Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas. Thank you, wikipedia. Basically, going with the crowd, not thinking about your decisions, in order to avoid making waves.] He had problems with Existentialism claiming it left out Groupthink, while my immediate response was "Not really."

Existentialism I feel very clearly can relate to Groupthink, especially when you migrate past Nietzsche and into Sartre, Foucault, Thoreau, etc. I more so understand Groupthink as being a product of Platonism, and one that is more or less knocked down by Existentialism. Part of me almost is inclined to view the 'group' as a sort of Commonwealth by Platonistic definitions - in which the rights of the individual are shoved aside in the name of keeping things calm, tranquil, peaceful, and functional.

But one aspect I couldn't get out of my head was that to me this screamed Foucault, Thoreau, MLK, and the idea of parrhesia on the part of the individual. In that, the individual participating in Groupthink, staying quiet for the sake of not rocking the boat, more so are the "White Moderates" MLK spoke about. They are potentially aware that their views may cause controversy, and instead they stay quiet in the name of "This isn't my fight."

Another thing he quickly brought up was what about in a case where the individual agrees with the group, that the group simply sways them. Really my only argument to this was that if they legitimately agree with the group or come to agree with the group, then it isn't Groupthink by definition. It instead them agreeing with the majority, rather than staying quiet for the sake of not causing problems.

I suppose all in all, my general understanding of Groupthink led me to it existing as a remainder of Platonism while being criticized or knocked down by Existentialism. I wanted to post this in order to maybe get a bit more discussion on it - see how you guys viewed Groupthink in relation to the things we've read, or how it as a phenomenon can exist, if it isn't a product of the Platonistic idea of an objective truth (that would presumably be found in the Group's reasoning).

So yes. Thoughts? Apologies if this is a bit rambly, my thoughts were a bit disjointed on the matter, but I tried to string them together decently.