Theological Reflections on Two Problems Associated with the Concepts of Ideology and Discourse

Abstract

Ideology and Discourse represent concepts used in studies of society to understand how political order and structure is formed and maintained. The two concepts, however, are based on epistemological and metaphysical foundations antithetical to Islamic creed. It is the aim of this paper to survey these conflicts and assess how radical they are. In this context, the formulations of the concept of ideology proposed by Marx, and to a lesser extent, Althusser and Zizek, will be studied alongside the concept of discourse as framed by Foucault. The two main issues identified for discussion are truth and the human subject. This paper concludes that the philosophical framework for truth utilised by ideology and discourse is problematic not just theologically but also theoretically and must be clearly limited in its range of application. Similarly, the individual must be approached as a subject independent of ideology and discourse, again in support of Islamic teaching, if it is to be made a theoretically coherent unit of analysis.