Summary
Contents
Subject index
This important book analyzes the major schools of thought in contemporary Western science in order to arrive at a philosophy (or philosophies) of science consistent with the discipline of nursing. After examining traditional empiricist views of science, the contributors focus on the schools of thought that challenge them. Next, they introduce postmodern schools of thought including feminism, phenomenology, critical theory and poststructuralism. Each analytic discussion is followed by a chapter exploring how particular tenets of the school have influenced the development of nursing knowledge and nursing science.
The Relationship between Science and Practice
Commencing with Chapter 1, the relationships between science and scientific knowledge as well as the possibility of any application of scientific knowledge to practice were addressed within the purview of each specific school of thought. For this practice discipline, nursing, these relationships are both fundamental and critical to the structure of nursing knowledge and the process of nursing knowledge development.
In the three chapters comprising this section, very different relationships are proposed between science and practice. For Ann Bishop and John Scudder, the question is whether nursing can or will be a caring practice or an applied science. Hannah Dean explores several possible relationships: nursing as an academic/practice discipline, nursing as a science/technology, and nursing ...
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