Political Science and Ideology by Connolly William;

Author:Connolly, William;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1967-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

4 The Concept of the Perspective

Ideally, we need a theory of mind that would enable us to explain how the social structure exerts an impact upon the structure and content of mental activity. Such a theory would suggest how the perspective brought to inquiry could be rendered more self-conscious and thus brought under more thorough intellectual control. If, as Mannheim has suggested, the ideology one constructs or adopts somehow reflects his location in the social system, then the problem of ideology could be more clearly recognized and confronted if we were more fully able to understand what mechanisms link the social process to mental productions.

No attempt is here made to construct a theory of mind sufficiently sophisticated to cover all the factors and processes that link mental operations to social processes. Our discussion is meant to be suggestive rather than definitive and conclusive, and it omits many issues that would require consideration if we proposed to construct a full philosophy of mind. Drawing on formulations advanced by George Herbert Mead and Karl Mannheim, our purpose is to develop the concept of the perspective; by focusing on its social genesis, its internal integration, and the strong tendencies and resources available for maintaining its integrity, we hope to promote recognition of the pervasive and seductive influence it exerts on inquiry into problematic political situations.

It is not especially difficult to elaborate Mannheim's concept of the perspective by drawing on concepts and theories developed by G. H. Mead, since the two authors begin their respective analyses with a remarkable congruence of philosophical commitment. Both developed their theories after having gone through early periods as "Hegelians." Both deny all variants of "idealism" and affirm the existence of an orderly external environment which must be somehow confronted and assimilated if human mental activity is to be successful. Both label "successful" mental activity as that which enables the organism to predict future events and to gain some control over selected aspects of the environment. Both view mind functionally rather than substantively; that is, mind does not exist as a "mental substance," but operates as "symbolic activity" functioning to promote organic "adjustment" to the environment. Mind, both agree, emerges out of and functions with reference to the social process, rather than existing antecedently to and independently of that process.*

We will not here question the philosophical base assumed by the two authors, but will employ concepts developed from that base in an attempt to clarify the connections between social existence and ideological constructions. Recognizing that various ideologies are differentially supported by various segments of society, we seek to comprehend more fully the social bases of the problem of ideology.

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