Ideology

"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 of 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."

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia Ellis and O. Wallace. "What is Ideology?" 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ideology.htm

"What is ideology? The term was likely coined by the French thinker Claude Destutt de Tracy at the turn of the nineteenth century, in his study of the Enlightenment. For De Tracy, ideology was the science of ideas and their origins. Ideology understands ideas to issue, not haphazardly from mind or consciousness, but as the result of forces in the material environment that shape what people think. . . . Ideology today is generally taken to mean not a science of ideas, but the ideas themselves, and moreover ideas of a particular kind. Ideologies are ideas whose purpose is not epistemic [knowledge], but political. Thus an ideology exists to confirm a certain political viewpoint, serve the interests of certain people, or to perform a functional role in relation to social, economic, political and legal institutions. Daniel Bell dubbed ideology ‘an action-oriented system of beliefs,’ and the fact that ideology is action-oriented indicates its role is not to render reality transparent, but to motivate people to do or not do certain things."

Synowich, Christine. "Law and Ideology." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University. 28 Jul. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/law-ideology/