We are all familiar with the famous passage from J. S. Mill’s essay On Liberty. Or if we are not then we ought to be, and IC makes no apology for reproducing its crucial sentences: The object of this essay is to assert one very simple principle… That principle is that the sole end for… read more »
Harold Walsby (1947) was a proponent of the idea that we all live on some level of consciousness, which he called an ideology. This idea of levels already existed, of course, in the ideas of Piaget (1977), Maslow (1987) and others. Walsby’s main contribution was to see these levels as essentially political. His other great… read more »
In the course of his psycho-analytical investigation Freud laid bare many mechanisms, many processes going on in our minds, of which we normally refrain more or less unaware. In some cases the same – or very similar – processes are to be observed at work in the ideological realm, and of these one of the… read more »
In criticism of scientific matters (as distinct from, say, that of art, music, or drama) one is sure entitled to some evidence for opinions expressed. Mr. Freed, however, seems preoccupied with mere assertions, such as “it is very hard to pin down the author’s central theme,” “Mr. Walsby is often confused both as to his… read more »
With reference to Harold Walsby’s Domain of Ideologies, a great part of your recent review is unfortunately irrelevant, since it cirticises contentions which the book does not in fact advance. In the first place, your reviewer – George Woodcock – should note that it deals with ideologies and not – as he seems to think… read more »
In his The Domain of Ideologies, Harold Walsby asserts his subject has never been treated scientifically and there is a desperate need for this. His own “humble endeavour” is a step that way. One wonders what his idea of science is, for it seems strange that he should apologise for giving so much space to… read more »
Early in this work [The Domain of Ideologies] Mr. Walsby advances the very interesting proposition that Left-Wing political opinions are in general held not by the most oppressed, but by the most intellectual members of any society, and he tries through subsequent chapters, full of quotations from eminent psychologists, politicians, physicists and philosophers, to show… read more »
The publication of Harold Walsby’s Domain of Ideologies raises certain acute and complex problems for those interested in the scientific discoveries set forth. One’s first impulse is to describe it as one of the most significant contributions to the thought of our time. In a number of ways it bears the stamp of genius, and… read more »
From ETHICAL RECORD, journal of the South Place Ethical Society, February 1991; by Thelma J. Shinn, Professor of English & Women ‘s Studies, Arizona State University. I read this book with great interest and pleasure. The clarity of Walford’s prose and the logic of his explanation of systematic ideology provide an excellent foundation for further… read more »
IC50 (entertaining as ever) speaks of “Ideology – that set of assumptions, beliefs, conclusions, doctrines, dogmas, ideas, inclinations, opinions, principles, theories and thoughts, values and a large etcetera.” This suggests that it is artificial to limit ideology to political/economic attitudes. We should also consider other aspects of culture. Most people prefer the foods they know,… read more »