| Author |
Lippmann, Walter, 1889-1974 |
| Title |
Public Opinion
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| Note |
Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Opinion_(book)
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 58.3 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.
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| Credits |
Produced by David Phillips, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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| Summary |
"Public Opinion" by Walter Lippmann is a significant intellectual work written in the early 20th century. This book explores the complexities of public opinion formation, examining how people's perceptions of reality are shaped by the images and stereotypes they hold, often based on incomplete information. Lippmann delves into the implications of these perceptions for democracy, governance, and social interaction, suggesting that the understanding of public opinion is crucial for the functioning of a healthy society. The opening of "Public Opinion" introduces the reader to the concept of how individuals perceive the world through a "pseudo-environment." Lippmann references the allegory of Plato's cave to illustrate how people are often imprisoned by their limited perceptions, mistaking shadows for reality. He discusses how historical events, such as the onset of World War I, revealed significant gaps between what people believed to be true and the actual circumstances. By drawing attention to the role of communication and media in shaping public perception, Lippmann sets the stage for a deeper exploration into the factors that influence opinion formation and the potential consequences for political discourse and decision-making. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
HM: Social sciences: Sociology
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| Subject |
Social psychology
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| Subject |
United States -- Politics and government
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| Subject |
Public opinion
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| Subject |
Public opinion -- United States
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| Subject |
Social psychology -- United States
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
6456 |
| Release Date |
Sep 1, 2004 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Oct 3, 2014 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
649 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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