Plato speculated that we band together because doing so provides for our collective needs and goals. These same kinds of social behaviors were explained by philosophers before the turn of the century in terms of sovereign principles. Different theorist championed different principles, but each believe that a single theory could explain virtually all social behavior. A bit eccentric, Bentham requested in his will that his body be stuffed and his mummy displayed. Since everyone is seeking power, conflict is inevitable.
People join groups in order to protect themselves against other groups.
Sympathy accounts for the concern we feel for others, a concern which motivates us to help them and makes our happiness dependent on their good fortune. Imitation, like the principle of suggestibility that Gustav LeBon used to explain behavior in crowds, involved a loss of conscious self-awareness. In that text, social behavior was accounted for by a collection of instincts. McDougall considered elation, fear, anger, wonder, and subjection among the primary emotional instincts. In addition, he considered sympathy, imitation, and suggestion more general innate tendencies since they could be expressed in varied forms.