Ideology
Pronunciation
- US IPA: /aɪ.di.ˈɑl.əd.ʒi/, /ɪ.di.ˈɑl.əd.ʒi/
Origin
From French idéologie, from idéo- + -logie (equivalent to English - + logy + -). Coined 1796 by Destutt de Tracy.
Kennedy, Emmet (1979) “Ideology†from Destutt De Tracy to Marx, Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Jul.–Sep., 1979), pp. 353–368
Hart, David M. (2002) Destutt De Tracy: Annotated Bibliography
Modern sense of “doctrine†attributed to use of related idéologue ("ideologue") by Napoleon Bonaparte as a term of abuse towards political opponents in early 1800s.
Full definition of ideology
Noun
ideology
(plural ideologies)- Doctrine, philosophy, body of beliefs or principles belonging to an individual or group.
- The study of the origin and nature of ideas.
Usage notes
Original meaning “study of ideas†(following the etymology), today primarily used to mean “doctrineâ€. For example “communist ideology†generally refers to “communist doctrineâ€; study of communist ideas instead being “communist philosophyâ€, or more clearly “philosophy of communismâ€; only rarely “ideology of communismâ€.