IDEAL TYPE
Charles François (2004). IDEAL TYPE, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 1602.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1602 ▶ |
| Object type |
- “An intellectual construct to aid thinking (Hence an epistemological concept)” (R. RODRIGUEZ ULLOA, Glossary, 1999)
An ideal type is thus “not a description of something in the real world… The word ”ideal“ is not normative , the function of ideal types being to enable comparisons to be made and theories to be developed… (even if) they are usually constructed from empirically observable or historically meaningful components - for example the individual activities in a human activity system ” (Ibid).
In synthesis, “ideal” is about ideas, not about ideology .