Chapter 1:

Philosophy, Science, and Nursing

Outline

At the end of this class you will be able to:

1. Differentiate between profession and occupation

2. List the factors that make nurses a profession and
academic discipline
3. Differentiate between science and philosophy
4. Define the dominant worldviews in nursing

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Nursing as a Profession #1

 Characteristics of occupations
o Varying levels of training or education
o Variable defined knowledge bases
o Varying levels of skill

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Nursing as a Profession #2
 Examples of professions
o Medicine
o Law
o Clergy
o Education

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Nursing as a Profession #3

 All professions are occupations, but not all

occupations are professions.

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Nursing as a Profession #4
o What is our knowledge base?
o Authority over education?
o Registration?
o Altruistic service?
o Code of ethics?
o Formal training?
o Socialization process?
o Autonomy?

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Nursing as an Academic Discipline #1
 Discipline—a field of inquiry
o Unique perspective and terminology
o Determination of what phenomena are of interest
o Determination of the context in which phenomena are viewed
o Determination of what questions to ask
o Determination of what methods of research are used and what
evidence is proof

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Nursing as an Academic Discipline #2
 A unique perspective
 An identifiable philosophy
 Conceptual frameworks/theories
 Acceptable methodologic approaches for development of
knowledge

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 Academic Disciplines #1
 Basic sciences  Humanities
o Physics o Philosophy
o Biology o History
o Chemistry o Fine arts
o Sociology o Languages

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Academic Disciplines #2
 Professional disciplines
o Medicine
o Law
o Dentistry
o Engineering
o Nursing

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Science #1
 Science is concerned with causality (cause and effect).
 Science is both a process and a product.
o A body of empirically tested knowledge
o A system of gathering and verifying information
(process)
 Science represents knowledge and is generated by the
application of methods to acquire that knowledge.

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Science #2
 A discipline’s science:
o Focuses on solving problems related to the discipline
o Directs answering questions of the discipline
 The science contains the research aspect of the discipline.
 A discipline’s science is tied to its philosophy.

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Classification of Sciences #1
 Natural sciences
o Chemistry, physics, biology, geology
 Basic or pure sciences
o Mathematics, chemistry, physics, language
 Human or social sciences
o Psychology, anthropology, economics
 Practice or applied sciences
o Engineering, medicine, pharmacology, law

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Classification of Sciences #2

 Nursing draws on basic/pure sciences (physiology,

biology).
 Nursing has characteristics of social sciences.
 Nursing is without question an applied science.

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Philosophy #1
 Philosophy is the “study of . . . the nature of existence,
knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose.”
 Philosophy seeks to:
o Discover knowledge and truth
o Identify what is valuable

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Philosophy #2

 Philosophy is concerned with:

o Purpose of human life
o Nature of being and reality
o Source(s) of knowledge

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Branches of Philosophy
 Metaphysics—study of nature of reality and existence
o Ontology—study of the theory of being
o Cosmology—study of the physical universe
 Epistemology—study of knowledge (ways of knowing)
 Logic—study of principles and methods of reasoning (inference
and argument)
 Ethics (axiology)—study of values (right and wrong)
 Esthetics—study of appreciation of arts or things beautiful

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Nursing Philosophy
 Statement of foundational and universal assumptions, beliefs, and
principles about the nature of knowledge and thought
(epistemology) and the nature of entities represented in the
metaparadigm (i.e., nursing practice and human health
[ontology])
 Provides perspectives for practice, scholarship, and research

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #1
 Empiricism/positivism (received view)
o What is experienced is what exists.
o Examines parts to understand the whole (reductionistic)
o Individuals learn by being told or receiving knowledge.

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #2
 Empiricism/positivism (received view)—(cont.)
o Knowledge is described and verified through scientific
methods (experimentation).
o Theories are generated which describe, explain, and predict
phenomena of interest.

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #3

 Empiricism/positivism (received view)—(cont.)

o Dominant worldview of the pure and basic sciences (e.g.,
physiology, biology)

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #4

 Perceived view—phenomenology, constructivism, humanism

o Focus is on perceptions of the subject and the researcher.
o Phenomena are studied and described from lived
experiences, interrelatedness, interpretation, and learned
reality.
o Desire is to understand the actions and meaning of
individuals.

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #5
 Perceived view—phenomenology, constructivism, humanism—
(cont.)
o What exists depends on what individuals perceive to exist.
o Knowledge is subjective and created by individuals.
o Research investigates the individual’s world.
 Emphasis is on subjectivity, multiple truths, trends and
patterns, discovery, description, and understanding.

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #6

 Perceived view—phenomenology, constructivism, humanism—

(cont.)
o Dominant worldview of the social/human sciences (e.g.,
psychology, sociology)

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Science and Philosophy—Worldviews #7

Received View— Perceived View—

Empiricism Humanism
Reality/truth considered Reality/truth considered in
separate from context context
Objective Subjective
Prediction and control Description and
understanding
Deductive Inductive
One truth Multiple truths
Quantitative research Qualitative research methods
methods

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Nursing Science
 System of relationships of human response in health and
illness (includes biologic, behavioral, social, and cultural
domains)

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Nursing Science and Worldviews #1
 Nursing is both a practice science and a human science.
o Practice sciences typically use quantitative research
methods (e.g., controlled experimentation) to
develop knowledge.
o Human sciences typically use qualitative research
methods (e.g., phenomenology, ethnography) to
develop knowledge.

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Nursing Science and Worldviews #2
 Until very recently, quantitative methods for research
were most valued.
 Nursing scholars are still undecided about which method
(quantitative or qualitative) best demonstrate the
essence and uniqueness of nursing.

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Nursing Science and Worldviews #3
 In recent years, it has been argued that both approaches
are important and essential for nursing science.
 Thus, multiple approaches to knowledge development
and methodologic pluralism should be encouraged.

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Ways of Knowing in Nursing #1
 Nursing epistemology is the study of the origins of
nursing knowledge, its structure and methods, the
patterns of knowing of its members, and the criteria for
validating its knowledge claims.

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Ways of Knowing in Nursing #2
 Understanding how nursing knowledge develops
o Allows judgment of the validity and appropriateness of the
knowledge
o Determines appropriateness of methods used to develop
knowledge
 Nursing has both scientific knowledge and knowledge that can be
termed “conventional wisdom.”

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Ways of Knowing in Nursing #3

 Empirics—the science of nursing

 Esthetics—the art of nursing
 Personal knowledge in nursing
 Ethics—moral knowledge in nursing

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Empirical Knowledge #1
 Objective, verifiable, and generally quantifiable knowledge

 When verified through research/testing, empirical knowledge

becomes laws, theories, and principles that explain and predict.

 The most emphasized way of knowing in nursing

 Purpose is to describe, explain, and predict phenomena of

concern to nurses.

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Esthetic Knowledge #1
 Expressive, subjective, experiential understanding
 Includes sensing the meaning of a moment
 Expressed in actions, conduct, attitudes, and interactions
of the nurse
 Relies on perception
 Incorporates empathy, intuition, values, and
understanding
 Not expressed in words

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Personal Knowledge #1
 Subjective view of the self and the client
 Promotes integrity in personal encounters
 Incorporates experience, personal maturity, knowing,
encountering, and actualizing the self within the practice
 May include spiritual or metaphysical elements
 Largely expressed in personality—therapeutic use of self

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Ethical Knowledge #1
 Moral code for nursing
 Based on obligation to service and respect for human life
 Occurs as moral dilemmas arise in ambiguous and
uncertain situations
 Requires evaluation of what is good, valuable, and
desirable
 Must address conflicting norms, interests, and principles

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