What does Ideology mean?
Compiled by Rana M. Munawar Farooq +923008059032
Ideology translates to the science or study of ideas. However, ideology tends to refer to the way in which people think about the world and their ideal concept that indicates that how to live in the world. This is slightly different from philosophy in the sense that ideology encompasses the concept that one’s ideals are the best way.
Philosophy on the other hand may examine the way ideology affects others from a more distant perspective. Philosophy however may become ideology when a philosopher sets forth ideal concepts for the way people should live. Plato’s Republic, for example, is his ideology of the best way to proceed in life. It can be called individual Ideology until the whole nation or society get agree with this philosophy.
The term ideology also may be used to describe the shared beliefs of a group of people, for example a nation, a sect of a religion, or a group of theorists. The term was most likely coined first by the French philosopher, Count Destutt de Tracy, who used the term in the 1700s to describe the more specific definition of the science of ideas.
Today the term ideology is used in so many ways, that it is often difficult to know how to describe it. In some ways, the common, shared beliefs of a community may be considered its common sense ideology. For example, a group of people living near the wilderness might share the ideology that it is not wise to venture into the bush alone and at night. Conversely, city people, for the most part, might believe that it make sense to look both ways before crossing a street. Common sense ideology often concerns the protection of the individual and community as a whole.
Ideology can be used in a more specific sense to differentiate between different groups of thought. The ideological differences between Sunni and Shiite factions of Islam are a subject of great debate. Understanding these competing ideologies allows one more...