Looking at Culture Through Ideological Discourse

The object of the article are some of Eco’s views regarding the nature, role and functioning of ideological discourse. The reasons of this interest are twofold: On the one hand, Eco’s words on ideological discourse shed light on some crucial dimensions of his general semiotic theory, in particular on Encyclopaedia theory, on the role of the Subject and on the role of discursive practices. On the other hand, Eco’s considerations on ideology seem to me extremely relevant, today, in order to ponder an intermediate level between the sociality of culture and the individuality of parole’s acts – a level which in my opinion has been mostly neglected by semiotic reflections. I will start from the role of ideological discourse in Eco’s theory.