Idésystem

Idésystem refers to a coherent and structured set of ideas, beliefs, and theories that underpin a worldview, a political stance, a scientific program, or a cultural tradition. It serves as a cognitive framework that organizes information, justifies values, and guides actions.

An idésystem typically includes core tenets, methodological assumptions, a specialized vocabulary, exemplars, and normative prescriptions. It is learned through education, socialization, institutions, and experience, and it evolves through critique, dialogue, and new evidence. Some idésystem are explicit and formally articulated; others are implicit and embedded in practices.

In philosophy, science, politics, and culture, an idésystem helps generate explanations, predictions, and decision-making criteria. It shapes research agendas, policy priorities, educational curricula, and everyday judgments. Historically, major idésystem such as those distinguishing rationalist from empiricist approaches, or liberalism from conservatism, have structured debates and guided institutions.

Critics argue that rigid idésystem can lead to dogmatism, bias, or selective interpretation; proponents argue that well-founded idésystem provide coherence, identity, and a basis for cumulative knowledge. They can be revised in light of new data or perspectives.

See also: ideology, paradigm, worldview, doctrine, epistemology, philosophy of science.