Ideology, sense, and meaning: A theoretical-methodological approach

Abstract

This article discusses a theoretical-methodological approach aimed at overcoming some limitations of Marxism and cultural-historical psychology. The concepts of “ideology” proposed by Lukács and the “meaning-sense” by Vygotsky have been crisscrossed. The concept of ideology refers to ideas that have a social function of intervening in social conflicts by determining the praxes of individuals in their daily lives. Hence, ideology adopts language as a tool for its operationalization in the discourse. For Vygotsky, the smallest subdivision of a language is the word and, more specifically, its meaning. It transforms human thoughts into speech for communication and guidance of praxis. The appropriate meanings, present in the discourses, generate a process of re-elaboration in the sense by individuals through their experience (perezhivanie). It is possible to approach both theoretical concepts by considering that meanings are elements that transmit ideologies from the social sphere to the individuals’ consciousness and influence their praxis. This understanding has methodological consequences and allows the use of meaning-senses as empirical elements for the analysis of ideology both in consciousness and daily life of individuals. This contributes to a discourse analysis that recognizes the dialectical feature of the individual–ideology relation.