[New Entry by William Clare Roberts on March 7, 2025.]
The uses of the word “ideology” are so divergent as to make it doubtful that there is any conceptual unity to the term. It may refer to a comprehensive worldview, a legitimating discourse, a partisan political doctrine, culture, false beliefs that help support illegitimate power, beliefs that reinforce group identity, or mystification. It is often used pejoratively, but just as often it is a purely descriptive term. When authors criticize ideology, they may be criticizing complicity with injustice, confirmation bias,…

Read the full article which is published on Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (external link)