Samantha Kralman Writing and Rhetoric, English 301 Cover Letter for Unit 1 September 29, 2014 Dear Professor Hughes, I would be negligent as a student if I did not mention my initial thoughts regarding Louis Althusser and On Ideology. Never fear, I will not dwell on the negative. My first foreboding thoughts are obvious; it is an extremely self-important piece of work showing a writer who may be a bit of a narcissist. The words blur together after the first brief paragraph, and the essay does not resemble anything that makes sense. Regardless, I kept trucking on for the sake of my future degree. I read this several times, different sections at a time and not necessarily in order. I discussed it with anyone who would listen and slowly, it …show more content…
Althusser proposes that there are no practices “except by and in an ideology” (170). The practices of specific influential social organizations reproduce ideology in a fluctuating and self-motivated method. People are born as subjects into some type of ideology; they naturally take part in practices in certain official ideologies. Althusser describes this process analytically, as a unifying relationship passed down generationally. By means of a “conceptual device or dispositif,” society believes they are given this generational gift, and freely claims this as an idea, which he or she accepts as true (167). Society is certain and has faith in that their ideas and that they should act on them and consequently inserted into practices controlled by traditions of ISAs. Birthed from the ideology of the RSA’s and ISA’s, the rituals are the beginning of the familiar molded principles of people (Althusser, …show more content…
We believe in heaven because no one wants to believe that we simply cease to exist when we die. The Bible, 6000 years old and rewritten countless times, is the fundamental basis for obedience and service to religion. We have these ideals of what life is supposed to be, but who is to say that this is valuable. I want to believe in RSA’s and ISA’s because I do not live a life of crime and I want to live in peace. However, the only things we know to be real are those that physiologically affect us such as cold, hunger, and exhaustion. These things stimulate our brain and we know this because there are physical reasons for