Group A blog post #4

In this weeks blog post, I wanted to talk about the ways that the different authors in the essays talked about crowds. In Seneca Letters from a stoic, the author describes why you should never follow big crowds. The author states, " Associating with people in large numbers is actually harmful." The author is not only saying that crowds are non beneficial, but they are also harmful. The author even includes that he comes home ," more selfish, more self-seeking, and more self indulgent", after staying in a large crowd for a certain period of time. The essay that completely went against The Seneca piece was Dio Chrysostom. The author of Dio Chrysostom mentioned many times how he would follow the big crowds to see what was the most interesting. The author states," Wherever we saw the biggest crowd, there we would stroll." I think that this is interesting because the two authors disagree on Crowds. Part of the disagreement could be because the two authors grew up in different eras and different places around the world.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 9, 2018 at 8:45 PM

    I also found the topic of crowds to be particularly interesting in these different pieces. There are conflicting views on crowds and you address this very well. Crowds can be either seen as a mob of crazy people or just a group of excited people. I think it is situational. If you see a big crowd at a gladiator fight, they express themselves differently than those at a chariot race. The words and gestures used at a UFC Fight may be more vulgar and disturbing than those in the crowd at a JV track meet. So maybe these different authors just found themselves at much different events.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 10, 2018 at 12:59 PM

    Someone's background will undoubtedly have a big impact on their views of crowds. If a person has worked in groups a lot and is part of a team, that person's view of crowds might be favorable versus a shy person whose view of crowds is unfavorable. The author of Gio Chrystostom is following crowds in the hope of finding the most interesting content, but I don't think that is the right approach to take. Masses follow the "average" content because most people in the mass are average people. I believe that in order to find the actual interesting content, it is imperative to NOT follow the crowd, as that is where the undiscovered, interesting content is to be found.

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  3. AnonymousOctober 10, 2018 at 6:54 PM

    This differentiating thought on crowds is interesting. As you said, not enjoying bigger crowds can stem from not wanting to follow the norm and be "average". It can also mean that people don't enjoy agreeing with everyone else, because that is seen as boring. I don't like large crowds because of "bandwagon" fans who only support people who are doing well and widely supported. Staying loyal to a person or team is an important value that I have been taught. Interesting content can be found from following large crowds and from supporting the less popular narrative.

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  4. Ben MyersOctober 12, 2018 at 12:52 PM

    I think their disagreement comes from their interactions with the crowds. Even though Dio Chrysostom is in a crowd, he becomes encapsulated in conversation with one person, which effectively isolates them from the crowd. He ends up learning the whole story of Melancomas. Seneca's crowd experience seems more lonely, he doesn't converse with people in crowds, and to make up for this, he becomes a part of the crowd. Seneca's idea that crowds are harmful makes sense based on what he writes: he feels "selfish," and "indulgent" after being a part of one. Dio Chrysostom didn't have that experience because while he was physically inside the crowd, he did not interact with it.

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  5. Jordan SilversmithOctober 14, 2018 at 1:45 PM

    While your point about the authors growing up in different areas is an interesting one, I feel that this is not where their disagreement stems from. Instead, their different views on crowds could come from their goals in interacting with crowds. Dio uses the crowd to find something interesting, not to better himself. Seneca's author feels that the crowd drags one down to their level, which cannot occur if one simply follows the crowd without listenting.

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