NURS 5327-010
Theoretical Basis for Nursing
Ch. 1: Philosophy, Science, and Nursing
*All professions are occupations but not all occupations are professions*
Characteristics of Professions:
1) Defined and specialized knowledge
2) Control and authority over training and education
3) Credentialing or registration to ensure competence
4) Altruistic service
5) Code of ethics
6) Formal training within institutions of higher education
7) Lengthy socialization to the profession
8) Autonomy
-Education for nurses is not yet standardized and the 3-tier entry level system (diploma, ADN, BSN)
into practice has hindered professionalization bc college education is not a requirement
-Autonomy in practice is incomplete bc nursing is still dependent on medicine to practice
-Discipline (organized by structure and tradition): branch of knowledge ordered through theories and
methods evolving from more than 1 worldview of the phenomena of concern
Characteristics of Disciplines: Ex-in psychology, some might be Freudian or behaviorist
1) Distinctive perspective and syntax
2) Figuring out what phenomena are of interest
3) Context in which phenomena are viewed
4) What questions to ask
5) What methods of study are used
6) Determination of what evidence if proof
-Institute of Medicine (2011) vision statement is to make quality, pt-centered care accessible to all
Americans
*Advocated for removal of regulatory, policy, and financial barriers to practice so nurses can
deliver safe, quality, pt-centered care
*Promote seamless academic progression, increase RN to BSN to 80%
*Advocated nurses be full partners with MDs and other HCPs to help redesign healthcare in
the US
-Areas that identify nursing as a distinctive discipline are:
-identifiable philosophy
-one conceptual framework (perspective)
-acceptable, methodological approaches for pursuit and development of knowledge
Intro to Science and Philosophy
,-Philosophy: purpose of human life, nature of being and reality, theory and limits of knowledge;
intuition/introspection/reasoningphilosophical methodologies
-Science: cause and effect; systematic inquiry that relies heavily on empirical knowledge that is
grounded and tested in experience and results of investigative efforts
*Represents knowledge generated by activities that combine research and theory
Characteristics of Science
1) Shows coherence
2) Definite fields of knowledge
3) Expressed in universal statements
4) Statements must be true or probably true
5) Logically ordered
6) Must explain its investigations and arguments
Philosphy: Study of problems that are ultimate, abstract, and general; concerned with nature of
existence, knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose
Philosophical Rationalists: reason is superior to experience as source of knowledge
a. Empiricist: supported experimentation and scientific methods for solution to problems
b. Received view: individuals learn by being told or receiving knowledge
c. Empiricism focus on understanding parts of the whole in order to understand the whole
d. Info must be measurable (instrumentation, reliability, and validity) then can test theories
through experiments or observation
e. Logical positivism: goal of science is to explain, predict and control; theories are true or
false and subject to empirical observation and can be reduced to theories
i. Positive analysis of theories is defective due to insistence on analyzing
logically ideal where results have little to do with reality
ii. Postpositivism: most accepted contemporary view
f. Perceived view: Influence of hx on science should be emphasized (phenomenology,
constructivism, and historicism)
a. Perceptions of both subject and researcher de-emphasize reliance on strict control
and experimenting in lab settings
b. Centers on descriptions derived from collectively lived experiments, interrelatedness,
human interpretation and learned reality (no single truth)
i. Knowledge is true if it withstands practical tests of utility and reason
c. Phenomenology: study of phenomena and emphasizes appearance of things as
opposed to things themselves
i. Each individuals experience is unique and there are multiple views on reality
ii. Perceptions/feelings/values that have come to be attached to things/events
are the focus
d. Constructivist: what exists depends on what individuals perceive to exist
i. Knowledge is subjective and created by individuals so research methods
investigates the individuals world
ii. Focuses on subjectivity, trends, patterns, description and understanding
e. Ex: Feminism, and critical social theory are perceived views
, f. Postmodernism: 1960s; started as social movement (centered on philosophy that
rejects notion of a single truth)
i. Multiple meanings and interpretations of reality
ii. Multiple methodologic methods
iii. Integrate quantitative and qualitative research into holistic model
Nursing Philosophy: Philosophy is the study of the nature of reality and existence (Cambridge
University Press, 2020). Philosophy allows human beings to understand what is possible to know,
including what is considered right or wrong, or what beliefs we may have about the world we live in.
Philosophy of Science in Nursing: Helps to establish the meaning of science through an
understanding and examination of nsg concepts/theories/laws as they relate to nsg practice
In the discipline of nursing we have our own unique philosophy; we can refer to this as our philosophy
of nursing science. While there are many different areas of philosophical inquiry, nursing philosophy
has been focused on two: ontology and epistemology.
a. Ontology: study of being, what is or what exists; The study of the nature of being according to
the substantive focus in a discipline (Reed, 2018). In nursing, ontology is composed of the
metaparadigm and ontological worldviews.
b. Epistemology: study of knowledge or ways of knowing; theory of knowledge. The study of the
nature of knowledge and truth, and is focused on what is considered justified knowledge
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020). In nursing, epistemology is composed of
epistemological perspectives, or Isms, and patterns of knowing.
c. Methodology: means of developing knowledge
d. The nursing metaparadigm is a broad statement describing the focus of nursing as a discipline.
e. Ontological worldviews, also referred to as paradigms, discourses, or philosophies, propose
various beliefs about specific concepts in nursing practice, such as human beings, health,
change, the environment, and the role of the nurse (Reed, 2018).
Ways of Knowing—
a. Empirics: scientific form of knowing
b. Personal knowledge: knowledge gained from thought alone
c. Intuitive: unconscious pattern recognition and experience
d. Somatics: knowledge of body in relation to physical movement
e. Metaphysical: higher power or aspects of spiritual knowledge (magic, miracles, near death
experience)
f. Esthetics: related to beauty, harmony, and expression
g. Moral or ethical: knowledge of what is right or wrong
Nsg epistemology-study of nsg knowledge, its structures and methods, patterns of knowing of its
members and criteria for validating its knowledge claims
-Carper (1978) 4 fundamental patterns for nsg knowledge:
1. Empirics: science of nsg; abstract, objective, and verifiable through repeated testing
a. Formulated into scientifics, generalizations, laws and theories, and principles that explain or
predict
Theoretical Basis for Nursing
Ch. 1: Philosophy, Science, and Nursing
*All professions are occupations but not all occupations are professions*
Characteristics of Professions:
1) Defined and specialized knowledge
2) Control and authority over training and education
3) Credentialing or registration to ensure competence
4) Altruistic service
5) Code of ethics
6) Formal training within institutions of higher education
7) Lengthy socialization to the profession
8) Autonomy
-Education for nurses is not yet standardized and the 3-tier entry level system (diploma, ADN, BSN)
into practice has hindered professionalization bc college education is not a requirement
-Autonomy in practice is incomplete bc nursing is still dependent on medicine to practice
-Discipline (organized by structure and tradition): branch of knowledge ordered through theories and
methods evolving from more than 1 worldview of the phenomena of concern
Characteristics of Disciplines: Ex-in psychology, some might be Freudian or behaviorist
1) Distinctive perspective and syntax
2) Figuring out what phenomena are of interest
3) Context in which phenomena are viewed
4) What questions to ask
5) What methods of study are used
6) Determination of what evidence if proof
-Institute of Medicine (2011) vision statement is to make quality, pt-centered care accessible to all
Americans
*Advocated for removal of regulatory, policy, and financial barriers to practice so nurses can
deliver safe, quality, pt-centered care
*Promote seamless academic progression, increase RN to BSN to 80%
*Advocated nurses be full partners with MDs and other HCPs to help redesign healthcare in
the US
-Areas that identify nursing as a distinctive discipline are:
-identifiable philosophy
-one conceptual framework (perspective)
-acceptable, methodological approaches for pursuit and development of knowledge
Intro to Science and Philosophy
,-Philosophy: purpose of human life, nature of being and reality, theory and limits of knowledge;
intuition/introspection/reasoningphilosophical methodologies
-Science: cause and effect; systematic inquiry that relies heavily on empirical knowledge that is
grounded and tested in experience and results of investigative efforts
*Represents knowledge generated by activities that combine research and theory
Characteristics of Science
1) Shows coherence
2) Definite fields of knowledge
3) Expressed in universal statements
4) Statements must be true or probably true
5) Logically ordered
6) Must explain its investigations and arguments
Philosphy: Study of problems that are ultimate, abstract, and general; concerned with nature of
existence, knowledge, morality, reason and human purpose
Philosophical Rationalists: reason is superior to experience as source of knowledge
a. Empiricist: supported experimentation and scientific methods for solution to problems
b. Received view: individuals learn by being told or receiving knowledge
c. Empiricism focus on understanding parts of the whole in order to understand the whole
d. Info must be measurable (instrumentation, reliability, and validity) then can test theories
through experiments or observation
e. Logical positivism: goal of science is to explain, predict and control; theories are true or
false and subject to empirical observation and can be reduced to theories
i. Positive analysis of theories is defective due to insistence on analyzing
logically ideal where results have little to do with reality
ii. Postpositivism: most accepted contemporary view
f. Perceived view: Influence of hx on science should be emphasized (phenomenology,
constructivism, and historicism)
a. Perceptions of both subject and researcher de-emphasize reliance on strict control
and experimenting in lab settings
b. Centers on descriptions derived from collectively lived experiments, interrelatedness,
human interpretation and learned reality (no single truth)
i. Knowledge is true if it withstands practical tests of utility and reason
c. Phenomenology: study of phenomena and emphasizes appearance of things as
opposed to things themselves
i. Each individuals experience is unique and there are multiple views on reality
ii. Perceptions/feelings/values that have come to be attached to things/events
are the focus
d. Constructivist: what exists depends on what individuals perceive to exist
i. Knowledge is subjective and created by individuals so research methods
investigates the individuals world
ii. Focuses on subjectivity, trends, patterns, description and understanding
e. Ex: Feminism, and critical social theory are perceived views
, f. Postmodernism: 1960s; started as social movement (centered on philosophy that
rejects notion of a single truth)
i. Multiple meanings and interpretations of reality
ii. Multiple methodologic methods
iii. Integrate quantitative and qualitative research into holistic model
Nursing Philosophy: Philosophy is the study of the nature of reality and existence (Cambridge
University Press, 2020). Philosophy allows human beings to understand what is possible to know,
including what is considered right or wrong, or what beliefs we may have about the world we live in.
Philosophy of Science in Nursing: Helps to establish the meaning of science through an
understanding and examination of nsg concepts/theories/laws as they relate to nsg practice
In the discipline of nursing we have our own unique philosophy; we can refer to this as our philosophy
of nursing science. While there are many different areas of philosophical inquiry, nursing philosophy
has been focused on two: ontology and epistemology.
a. Ontology: study of being, what is or what exists; The study of the nature of being according to
the substantive focus in a discipline (Reed, 2018). In nursing, ontology is composed of the
metaparadigm and ontological worldviews.
b. Epistemology: study of knowledge or ways of knowing; theory of knowledge. The study of the
nature of knowledge and truth, and is focused on what is considered justified knowledge
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2020). In nursing, epistemology is composed of
epistemological perspectives, or Isms, and patterns of knowing.
c. Methodology: means of developing knowledge
d. The nursing metaparadigm is a broad statement describing the focus of nursing as a discipline.
e. Ontological worldviews, also referred to as paradigms, discourses, or philosophies, propose
various beliefs about specific concepts in nursing practice, such as human beings, health,
change, the environment, and the role of the nurse (Reed, 2018).
Ways of Knowing—
a. Empirics: scientific form of knowing
b. Personal knowledge: knowledge gained from thought alone
c. Intuitive: unconscious pattern recognition and experience
d. Somatics: knowledge of body in relation to physical movement
e. Metaphysical: higher power or aspects of spiritual knowledge (magic, miracles, near death
experience)
f. Esthetics: related to beauty, harmony, and expression
g. Moral or ethical: knowledge of what is right or wrong
Nsg epistemology-study of nsg knowledge, its structures and methods, patterns of knowing of its
members and criteria for validating its knowledge claims
-Carper (1978) 4 fundamental patterns for nsg knowledge:
1. Empirics: science of nsg; abstract, objective, and verifiable through repeated testing
a. Formulated into scientifics, generalizations, laws and theories, and principles that explain or
predict
