Beliefs, Ideologies, Values, and Norms in Society
4.
Beliefs and ideologies:
When we speak of all the ideas that are in force in the culture of a society we are talking about the system of beliefs and values shared by the vast majority of members of society, including both the concepts of what it’s like should be (the value that leads to belief)
. Both issues are inextricably intertwined and it is a fact that we have presented for consideration. All the ideas include both technical and instrumental knowledge. That is, the set of techniques, procedures, recipes, classes, …. Which are set by the effectiveness and value that are used to achieve a given goal. To implement some expertise that we require the use of instruments, tools. By contrast there are other skills that do not require the use of tools. The techniques are much more important than the tools, since the techniques include socially learned knowledge into tools. Techniques (carpentry, medicine, …) by definition, are directed toward a specific purpose and are considered effective within a cultural context, individual and social.
We have to ensure that expertise are always linked to the belief system of a society and that instrumental and expressive aspects are inseparable. Each culture provides individuals of that culture explicit or implicit answers to questions man has done and continues to do. These questions and answers that we we’re moving to the complex world of beliefs: This is the world of ideas we have about the nature of the world (the cosmos), the place of man as are the relationships between individuals.
Beliefs are ideas about reality, developed and transmitted socially hysterically. Some of these beliefs are by nature very specific and relate to one or another aspect of the world, actions that we or persons. Forman set is technically referred to as domains on the power, authority, kinship … Other beliefs relate to differences between the various domains or boundaries are drawn between them or how they relate to each other. Such as the relationship that exists between religions and the cosmological myths. Within each culture the belief of these cultures tend to form a conclusive rational, coherent (that make sense) with each other and are mutually reinforcing. Hence we can say that in every town, every culture formed belief system that can recognize as a group of sets of propositions about the world that is ordered.
This convergence does not mean that there are no contradictions between the beliefs or belief systems are integrated uniformly or completely, if not showing a trend of internal consistency. There are some beliefs accepted by the vast majority of people who constitute what is called ideology.
The beliefs accepted by a part of society are called subcultural and those shared by individuals are called aspects of personality. Ideology being a term that expresses the ideas of individuals, the concept to become fully ideologizing, not only in common use but has also fallen within the social sciences, as it is an evaluative concept, pejoratively, as apply to all social groups and individuals who have very clear ideas, firm and unchangeable (extremist). This term of ideology applied in a broader sense, neutral. We can say that is that part of the culture to which it is concerned in an active way the establishment and defense of patterns of belief and value.Ideology is a cultural system as well as science and as religion is another cultural system. These cultural systems give us information about the structure of social situations or events, but the information that comes through is completely different even though the situation is the same. The ideology supporting conveys the size of the event. Science gives us the diagnostic dimension, critical. Religion gives us the transcendent dimension of the social fact of salvation. The same social fact seen from three different perspectives that can coexist. It is a fact that in all cultures most people manage to get through life with a very vague kind of ideology. Hence we usually refer to this behavior and mentality. This does not mean that people have no values or beliefs, but their ideology is implicit in the social roles they play and in social institutions in which it participates. In fact, systematic ideologies emerge in times of tension and conflict when it calls into question the commonly accepted rules of life and there are no guiding models social problem in this situation. Ideologies are not a random selection if they fit into a pattern of expression of a culture. The ideas, which are the expression of beliefs, are very close to the values. (Beliefs are what is and what values should be). Depending on our beliefs, our values are created. When talking about values are not talking about the objective qualities of things (size, color, …). The values are relational, ie they are values for someone of what we can deduce that the values are within the selective behavior of individuals. One of the most accurate definition is that values are conceptions of the desirable which influence the selective behavior of individuals. This definition distinguishes between the desired and the desirable, identifying what is desirable with what is desirable. A value is all that matters to a human being, hence one can deduce that there could be as there are values like human beings. The human being is not indifferent to the world. Explicitly or implicitly being considered continuously, objects, actions, people, good or bad, true or false. Depending on our values, what we describe as positive or negative. Values serve as our criterion for selecting the actions. People prefer one thing to another, select a type of action or other and depending on this, we judge our conduct and that of others. This selection means that not all values have the same importance. Values in some cultures are very important, but the same in another society is not important. Values in some cultures are very important, but the same value in another company is not important. Values are mental states are not objects, are patterns of desirability to have greater independence from specific moments.
When we talk about values, we speak of those who are institutionalized and are shared by an overwhelming majority. They refer also to the ethical and aesthetic values that characterize a sociocultural system. Values are those ideals or standards with which we define our purpose, we select our actions and judge ourselves and others. As in the beliefs and ideologies, values that sustain individuals in a social group, tend to form a coherent system, although some inconsistencies arise. Along with the securities are social norms are those rules to a person behave a certain way. The rules specifically indicate about what to do or should not do individuals in specific circumstances, and thus the rules are those that specify the specific conduct. These rules can extend or specify the four main groups:
· Popular uses: it is a conventional behavior, accepted as appropriate but not mandatory.
· Customs: rules or institutions are those that are heavily penalized from the point of view of ethics and morality. Both popular applications such as customs direct their attention to an important dimension of social norms is the moral and ethical solution is implicit in it.
· Habits: include the uses set by time, ie are those practices that have become accepted as appropriate forms of behavior. They are sanctioned by tradition and are supported by the pressure of group opinion on the individual.
· Law: are the rules established by those who wield political power and obligation is secured by pressure vessels that feeds the state (courts, police, …).