Is it an Ideology or a Philosophy?

And why does it matter?
Definitions from American Heritage Dictionary:

Ideology-- 1. The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture. 2. A set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.

Philosophy-- 1.Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline. 2. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods. 3. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Plato. 4. The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.

Awhile back, Andrew Sullivan, in his excellent blog The Daily Dish, wrote about ideology and philosophy. His column got me to thinking about how important this is to a nation, a people, and an individual life. Some would use the terms interchangeably, but there are real differences that matter.

Ideology is doctrine that is locked in place because someone once decided it worked and from then on, it must be the ultimate truth. Ideology must defend itself against those who would weaken or change it.

Philosophy explores what it has believed to see if it is still true and is open to change when required. Philosophy is guiding principles to help a people make decisions but it's free to change the details of how you get from A to Z.

Philosophy is not afraid of change because it knows the goal at the end is more important than a set of doctrinaire rules. Ideology rules with a whip and denies the ability to reconsider new facts.

Subtle (and not so subtle) pressures are applied within any ideology based group upon those who would think beyond the accepted bounds. If the culture is ideology driven, they do not want anyone questioning whether its rules make real sense. Groucho Marx said it well: "Who you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" And it's said again and again by ideologists who don't want us to look deeply into any situation.

One example of how this works using the big picture is gay marriage. The guiding philosophy behind encouraging marriage is stable home, good place to raise children, take care of the old, encourage people to live stable, loving lives in their communities; but however you might get to that place would be okay with those who have that as their guiding philosophy.

If you are ruled by an ideology,which might also believe in the idea of marriage as good but is concerned homosexuals are either mentally defective or evil, your group will not look at whether homosexuals could accomplish all those above-listed positives. Idelology would block consideration of new ways to experience family life. To stop this dread change, fear is used and the cry goes out that if gays are allowed to marry, it will ruin marriage for heterosexuals. Is there logic to that thought? There doesn't have to be in an ideology driven group. Fear is the driving force to keep things as they have been..

An example of how ideology and philosophy can work in our personal lives is represented by this bedroom. Change began for it last spring in the form of a king-sized bed. A beautiful Amish quilt no longer covered enough of the bed. You could think of that quilt as representing an ideology. It had been acquired, suited the room, and was much loved. Ideology would have kept that quilt where it was-- fit or not. A guiding philosophy, that had certain goals for the room but no exact rules for how to accomplish them, eventually was free to say it was no longer working. Time for change.

Once a new bedspread entered the picture (something more subtle would have required less adjustment), many things had to change for the room to once again be in balance. Furniture was shifted, paintings changed. When the work was done, the basic elements still remained, but the feeling of the room had been changed to fit its vivid new addition.

Is the room now how it must stay forever and ever? Ideology would say yes as it works well at this moment. Philosophy would say it is nice for going into winter but maybe someday, something new will come along and the process of change will once again be set into motion.

I am not trying to say it is wrong to have a system of rules we live by. It's essential. But what is wrong is when those rules are not permitted to be adjusted as new situations arise. We need to be aware, both in our own lives and in our governing bodies, whether it's a philosophy or an ideology that is behind it.

The odd part about ideology is often the reason behind it has totally been forgotten but the rules are remembered. Dictatorships love ideology. Ignorance is rewarded as if to be a virtue.

(Finally, for those of us who are Christians, I believe, one of Christ's main teachings was to put an end to mindless ideology and reveal the spirit behind the laws. No more rules of how many steps you could make on a holy day but instead have an understanding of why that rule ever was in place. Live by the Spirit-- not the religious law.)