Philosophies ask questions (sometimes annoying ones, which is why they made Socrates drink hemlock). Ideologies, on the other hand, determine answers. That seemingly nuanced distinction makes all the difference in the world.
Most people prefer ideologies. They’re easier. You can believe in world peace or free markets, feel good about yourself and never have to think much about it. Philosophies are much harder. They provide a guide to the journey but don’t give us the destination. The advantage of philosophy is that it will get you where you want to go. Ideology won’t.
A philosophy is the core of a strategy in that it provides a coherent logic for making choices. It creates a framework for thinking, but does not replace thought. It’s like an owners manual, helpful but not determinant.
An ideal, by its very definition, doesn’t reflect reality, but seeks perfection. They’re nice to have, even admirable. We would all like to be perfectly virtuous, honest and true. Yet in the real world, which is the only one we live in, we falter as do those around us. It is those imperfections that make life difficult and interesting.
To live life according to a philosophy is to seek meaning through action. To operate according to an ideology is to live by parable, to lose the distinction between story and event.
This aligns with what I’ve learnt from personal experience: a preference for pragmatism over dogmatism.