Abstract:
As a result of researching the conditions for establishing the theoretical-methodological framework of the mentality concept and its diversity of meanings and specific defining aspects, we find that the multidisciplinary nature of approaches that have coagulated over time presents the phenomenon of collective mentality in its evolution from its pejorative connotation of „primitive psychism” to that of “dynamic and living synthesis of each society in which cultural specificity is included and civilizations are defined”. This article aims to approach the mentality from a historical perspective, analyzing the place of the collective mentality in history, as well as the role of the mentality in investigating the historical past, starting from the research perspectives that were launched in one of the most important epistemological project of the twentieth century - the history of mentalities.
