Political Science 1020E Study Guide - Midterm Guide: French Revolution, Toleration, Revolutionary Socialism

• School: Western University
• Department: Political Science
• Course: Political Science 1020E
• Professor: All

Document Summary

Social action is comprehensible in terms of the thinking that underlies it: one must see their connection to ideas like imperialism, political islam, capitalism, etc. Ideologies: system of ideas with their own histories. They aim to shape social change, and they have themselves changed in response to historical events over time. Began in 1790s ushered by french revolution of 1789. Word ideology itself coined by destutt de tracy: intended to mean a science of ideas. Ideology cont"d (in this course) ideology means: a social and political worldview that serves four functions. It explains social phenomena, evaluates social, political, and economic conditions, orients individuals with the world, and provides a program for political change: explains, evaluates, orients, program for political change. Ideology tell us why the social/political/economic world is the way it is. As evaluative framework, it explains why/how that world is good/bad. As orienting device, ideology provides individuals with an identity and political compass.