It is an accepted commonplace in psychology that the spiritual level of people acting as a crowd is far lower than the mean of each individual's intelligence or morality.

Christian Lous Lange's quote delves into the concept of group behavior and how it often differs from individual actions. He highlights the idea that when people come together as a crowd, their spiritual and moral behavior tends to be significantly lower than the combined qualities of each person when acting alone. Lange suggests that in a collective setting, individuals may lose their sense of responsibility and self-restraint, allowing negative impulses to dominate.

The quote touches on a well-known psychological idea that crowd dynamics can influence people in ways that would not occur in solitary actions. When in groups, people might experience a loss of individuality and feel less accountable for their behavior, which can lead to actions that contradict their personal values or intelligence. Lange's observation points to a sort of deindividuation that happens when people act as part of a larger whole.

This theory has been discussed extensively in psychology, particularly in the study of mob mentality. The phenomenon where individuals in a crowd may behave in ways they wouldn't individually is often used to explain things like riots or mass hysteria, where reason and ethics are overshadowed by the collective emotions of the group. Lange’s quote serves as a reminder of the psychological dangers of crowd behavior and how it can lower the overall moral standards of individuals within it.

The origin of the quote lies in Lange’s scholarly work in political science and history, where he was concerned with the implications of mass movements and collective behavior. As a thinker and academic, Lange observed how the dynamics of large groups could influence the actions of individuals in ways that could be detrimental to society's ethical and intellectual standards.