Doris Lessing Group Minds Essay

In “Group Minds” by Doris Lessing, Lessing tells us how in human-nature, people will “conform to those large, vague, ill defined collections of people” in order to feel accepted as if they’re a part of something other than themselves. Lessing gives many examples as to how this might take place in real-world scenarios. Lessing is so convincing throughout her article that she has made me a believer in how individuality is starting to take form as an outcast member of society rather than someone bravely being their own person and making their separate decisions based upon their beliefs. Lessing provides valid points that any reader can understand and possibly even relate to. She develops every point with abundant detail that portrays a picture of the real world as we all know it. Lessing states that “we all live our lives in groups” and that “most people cannot stand being alone for long” (Lessing 652). This leads to the idea that it is human nature to have the urgency to interact with other humans and we will do everything in our power to keep them around. Even if that means going against our own better judgement. …show more content…
She also assumes that we “do not use [this information] to improve our institutions and therefore our lives” (Lessing 653). My understanding of this leads me to agree with Lessing's assumptions that we overlook our common knowledge about peer pressure or group pressure and decide to give in for the fear of being an outcast or an individual is far too strong. Just as Lessing stated, “we are group animals” and from that I predict that group pressure is becoming an epidemic that will eventually lead to individuals no longer accepting their own good common sense, but giving in to what they already know is wrong just so they do not have to be