Page 433 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

400 n PHIlOSOPHY OF NURSING

on the analysis of the subject and object as offers the following definitions. Metaphysics
the object appears through consciousness. is the study of the ultimate nature of reality
P Bracketing is essential in this descriptive and of being. epistemology is the study of the
phenomenology. In Heideggerian phenom- scope and nature of knowledge and of the
enology, bracketing is not used because this justification of knowledge claims. ethics is
phenomenology views people as being-in- the study of the moral life. History of philos-
the-world. This notion of being-in-the-world ophy is the study of major philosophers and
allows researchers to bring their experiences of major movements in philosophy. logic is
and understanding of the phenomenon the study of sound principles and methods
under study to the research. of reasoning in determining valid arguments
As a research method, phenomenology from invalid ones.
is inductive and descriptive. Phenomenology Philosophy’s method of inquiry is called
provides a closer fit conceptually with clin- philosophical inquiry; it involves subject-
ical nursing and with the kinds of research ing philosophical perspectives to critical
questions that emerge from clinical practice examination to determine their soundness
than does quantitative research. The goal of through appeals to reason (Iannone, 2001).
phenomenological research is to describe the These appeals typically include (a) criti-
meaning of human experience. In its focus cal analysis, reflection, and interpretation;
on meaning, phenomenology differs from (b) conceptual, linguistic, and ethical analy-
other types of research, which may, for exam- sis; (c) logical and dialectical argumentation;
ple, focus on statistical relationships among and (d) historical analysis. Although philos-
variables. Phenomenology tries to discover ophy has its own body of knowledge and
meanings as persons live them in their every- distinctive method of inquiry, it relates to
day world. It is the study of essences, that is, other disciplines through subfields such as
the grasp of the very nature of something. philosophy of science, philosophy of art, and
essence makes a thing what it is; without it, philosophy of medicine. Philosophy of nurs-
the thing would not be what it is. The phe- ing is another subfield.
nomenological approach is most appropriate Before defining philosophy of nursing,
when little is known about a phenomenon the following questions need addressing:
or when a fresh look at a phenomenon is What is the history of philosophy of nurs-
indicated. ing? Why is it important? What are its major
issues?
Cheryl Tatano Beck Philosophy of nursing has existed since
Florence Nightingale (1859/1946) identified
the nature of nursing in Notes on Nursing:
What It Is, and What It Is Not. Since then, sub-
PhilosoPhy of nursing stantive nursing philosophical research has
been conducted; conferences and institutes
have been held; and books and journals on
Generically defined, philosophy is love of philosophy of nursing have been published.
wisdom. Specifically, philosophy is a disci- An example is Nursing Philosophy, which was
plined method of inquiry involving critical first published in July 2000. Between 2000 and
examination and comprehensive study of October 2009, 205 original articles were pub-
the universe—its reality (metaphysics), its lished in this journal by 225 different authors
knowledge (epistemology), its morality (eth- (Sellman, 2009). These articles focused on all
ics), its history (history of philosophy), and its major aspects of nursing philosophy: nursing
method of argumentation (logic). Audi (2006) metaphysics, nursing epistemology, nursing