This thesis has examined several of the most recent advances in the theory of ideology. These have developed in the wake of the seminal work of the French Marxist philosopher, Louis Althusser. They have attempted to continue the insights found in Althusser's attack on empiricist epistemoloqy and in his theory of the formation of human subjectivity. The central argument of this thesis is that the theory of ideology, in terms of the "constitution of the subject", is a valuable breakthrough which allows the concept of ideology to be extended beyond its traditional (class) parameters. However, the anti-empiricist epistemology which has removed the object (ie. the material referent) from the theory of ideology, has been a regressive step since it has rendered the whole enterprise idealist. The standpoint of: this thesis is a materialist one which forcefully maintains that the real world is directly implicated in the knowledge produced by social practices. Therefore, the theory of ideology must include a concept of representations of that real world if it is to be fully materialist. This thesis does not explicitly present a materialist theory of ideology. Instead, it examines the theoretical principles of these recent advances and shows how they ultimately degenerate into idealism at crucial points. The thesis then employs some of my empirical interview material and proceeds to show that the concrete application of these theoretical principles also leads to idealist research practices. The thesis concludes by suggesting that there is, nevertheless, something of value in these recent advances which a materialist research practice can incorporate.

Esse trabalho sintetiza a busca por uma orientação alternativa para o tratamento teórico-prático da determinação judicial da pena, com destaque especial para as particularidades referentes à fixação da pena-base. Para tanto, de saída, foi revisitado o discurso tradicional sobre a punição, de sorte a explicitar, já a partir desse campo de legitimação da pena, algumas das principais limitações das abordagens ditas oficiais a respeito dos fundamentos e finalidades atribuídos à reprimenda penal. Em seguida, buscou-se empreender uma crítica materialista da punição, o que foi feito por meio de uma abordagem histórico-social da pena e das instituições penais, das quais se examinou a origem e consolidação, até o desaguar no atual quadro de encarceramento em massa. Por fim, analisou-se as principais contribuições teóricas ao debate sobre a determinação da punição, de maneira a que fossem aduzidas as suas mais graves insuficiências, e, ao cabo, esboçou-se indicações, ainda que gerais, voltadas a uma atuação penal fundamentalmente referenciada na necessidade de se minorar os efeitos reconhecidamente dessocializadores do cárcere. / This paper summarizes the search for an alternative orientation to the theoretical and practical treatment of judicial sentencing, with particular attention to the particularities regarding the base sentencing. To do so, the traditional discourse on punishment was revisited, in order to clarify, from this field of penalty legitimacy, some of the main limitations of the so called official approach concerning the foundations and purposes attributed to criminal reprimand. Next, we sought to undertake a materialist critique of punishment, which was done through a socio-historical approach of sentences and penal institutions, whose origin and consolidation was examined, to the current flow of mass incarceration. Finally, the main theoretical contributions to the debates on the determination of punishment were analyzed, so that they were put forward to its most serious shortcomings, and indications were laid out, albeit general, geared primarily to a criminal action referenced on the need to mitigate the well known disocialisating effects of the jail.

Esse trabalho sintetiza a busca por uma orientação alternativa para o tratamento teórico-prático da determinação judicial da pena, com destaque especial para as particularidades referentes à fixação da pena-base. Para tanto, de saída, foi revisitado o discurso tradicional sobre a punição, de sorte a explicitar, já a partir desse campo de legitimação da pena, algumas das principais limitações das abordagens ditas oficiais a respeito dos fundamentos e finalidades atribuídos à reprimenda penal. Em seguida, buscou-se empreender uma crítica materialista da punição, o que foi feito por meio de uma abordagem histórico-social da pena e das instituições penais, das quais se examinou a origem e consolidação, até o desaguar no atual quadro de encarceramento em massa. Por fim, analisou-se as principais contribuições teóricas ao debate sobre a determinação da punição, de maneira a que fossem aduzidas as suas mais graves insuficiências, e, ao cabo, esboçou-se indicações, ainda que gerais, voltadas a uma atuação penal fundamentalmente referenciada na necessidade de se minorar os efeitos reconhecidamente dessocializadores do cárcere. / This paper summarizes the search for an alternative orientation to the theoretical and practical treatment of judicial sentencing, with particular attention to the particularities regarding the base sentencing. To do so, the traditional discourse on punishment was revisited, in order to clarify, from this field of penalty legitimacy, some of the main limitations of the so called official approach concerning the foundations and purposes attributed to criminal reprimand. Next, we sought to undertake a materialist critique of punishment, which was done through a socio-historical approach of sentences and penal institutions, whose origin and consolidation was examined, to the current flow of mass incarceration. Finally, the main theoretical contributions to the debates on the determination of punishment were analyzed, so that they were put forward to its most serious shortcomings, and indications were laid out, albeit general, geared primarily to a criminal action referenced on the need to mitigate the well known disocialisating effects of the jail.