Theory vs. Ideology What Is Ideology? Ideology

Theory vs. Ideology

What is ideology?

Ideology is a belief system that supports and promotes personal or a group's social or religious agenda. In some cases its nature will be obvious to most people, but in other cases an ideology will be disguised as scientific fact based on nonexistent or reinterpreted empirical evidence. Ideologies are invariably supported by personally- or collectively-held religious or political beliefs, rather than extant empirical evidence or objective observation. Concepts within the ideology are typically framed in a black and white manner, such as right vs. wrong, just vs. unjust, and Evil Empire vs. God's Country. The use of such terminology has the effect of erasing the inherent complexity common to most social issues. From the perspective of a social scientist the most important characteristic is that ideologies are refractory to scientific inquiry and may go so far as to attack opposing beliefs to preserve its existence. Another self-protective strategy often used is circular reasoning. For example, creationism is an ideology because it is almost always presented as fact by its proponents, but is inherently un-testable through scientific means and uses circular reasoning.

What are the differences between ideology and theory?

From a social scientist perspective, the biggest and most important difference between an ideology and a social theory is the intended purpose. Ideologies are used to promote a religious or political agenda, whereas a scientific theory is formulated to provide an intellectual framework for conducting scientific research. In other words, the former discourages thoughtful questioning, sometimes through violent means, while the latter encourages it.

There are a number of safeguards that protect theories from wandering across the line into ideology that help distinguish theories from ideologies. These include stating the theory in a manner that is inherently testable through empirical means, being open to revision and reinterpretation when confronted with conflicting empirical evidence, and the strength and scope of the theory's acceptance depends on independent, redundant empirical confirmation. In other words, how widely a theory becomes accepted depends on whether other researchers are able to replicate a study's findings and interpret their results in the same way. Ideologies, in contrast, are structured to resist investigation and critical reassessment.

Consider whether theory is ideological?

The relativist position states that theories are strongly influenced by societal norms, personally held beliefs, and prejudices. In other words, scientific theories are constantly subjected to the personal ideologies of scientists and social influences. As a result, a theory can adopt some of the traits normally associated with ideologies. The degree to which the line between theory and ideology becomes blurred depends on how extensively social and personal influences impact the integrity of the scientific theory being formulated. For example, Robert Martinson reviewed the literature on prison recidivism rates in 1974 and declared that rehabilitation programs uniformly fail to accomplish their goals (Cusac, 2009, p. 173). Five years later this conclusion was unequivocally retracted. The original conclusion was viewed by Cusac (2009) as the product of a nationwide movement away from rehabilitation and towards more biblical forms of punishment and retribution.