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16 UNIT I Evolution of Nursing Theories

has to do with formulating differential diagnoses. For- that empirical facts exist independently of theories and
mulating a differential diagnosis requires collecting offer the only basis for objectivity in science (Brown,
the facts and then devising a list of possible theories to 1977). In this view, objective truth exists independently
explain the facts. of the researcher, and the task of science is to discover
The strict empiricist view is reflected in the work it, which is an inductive method (Gale, 1979). This
of the behaviorist Skinner. In a 1950 paper, Skinner view of science is often presented in research method
asserted that advances in the science of psychology courses as: “The scientist first sets up an experiment;
could be expected if scientists would focus on the observes what occurs . . . reaches a preliminary hy-
collection of empirical data. He cautioned against pothesis to describe the occurrence; runs further ex-
drawing premature inferences and proposed a mora- periments to test the hypothesis [and] finally corrects
torium on theory building until further facts were or modifies the hypothesis in light of the results” (Gale,
collected. Skinner’s (1950) approach to theory con- 1979, p. 13).
struction was clearly inductive. His view of science The increasing use of computers, which permit the
and the popularity of behaviorism have been credited analysis of large data sets, may have contributed to the
with influencing psychology’s shift in emphasis from acceptance of the positivist approach to modern sci-
the building of theories to the gathering of facts ence (Snelbecker, 1974). However, in the 1950s, the
between the 1950s and 1970s (Snelbecker, 1974). The literature began to reflect an increasing challenge to
difficulty with the inductive mode of inquiry is that the positivist view, thereby ushering in a new view of
the world presents an infinite number of possible science in the late twentieth century (Brown, 1977).
observations, and, therefore, the scientist must bring
ideas to his or her experiences to decide what to Emergent Views of Science and Theory
observe and what to exclude (Steiner, 1977).
In summary, deductive inquiry uses the theory- in the Late Twentieth Century
then-research approach, and inductive inquiry uses In the latter years of the twentieth century, several
the research-then-theory approach. Both approaches authors presented analyses challenging the positivist
are utilized in the field of nursing. position, thus offering the basis for a new perspective
of science (Brown, 1977; Foucault, 1973; Hanson,
1958; Kuhn, 1962; Toulmin, 1961). Foucault (1973)
Early Twentieth Century Views published his analysis of the epistemology (knowledge)
of Science and Theory of human sciences from the seventeenth to the nine-
During the first half of this century, philosophers teenth century. His major thesis stated that empirical
focused on the analysis of theory structure, whereas knowledge was arranged in different patterns at a
scientists focused on empirical research (Brown, given time and in a given culture and that humans
1977). There was minimal interest in the history of where emerging as objects of study. In The Phenome-
science, the nature of scientific discovery, or the simi- nology of the Social World, Schutz (1967) argued that
larities between the philosophical view of science and scientists seeking to understand the social world could
the scientific methods (Brown, 1977). Positivism, a not cognitively know an external world that is indepen-
term first used by Comte, emerged as the dominant dent of their own life experiences. Phenomenology, set
view of modern science (Gale, 1979). Modern logical forth by Edmund Husserl (1859 to 1938) proposed that
positivists believed that empirical research and logical the objectivism of science could not provide an ade-
analysis (deductive and inductive) were two ap- quate apprehension of the world (Husserl 1931, 1970).
proaches that would produce scientific knowledge A phenomenological approach reduces observations or
(Brown, 1977). text to the meanings of phenomena independent of
The logical empiricists offered a more lenient view their particular context. This approach focuses on the
of logical positivism and argued that theoretical propo- lived meaning of experiences.
sitions (proposition affirms or denies something) must In 1977, Brown argued an intellectual revolution
be tested through observation and experimentation in philosophy that emphasized the history of science
(Brown, 1977). This perspective is rooted in the idea was replacing formal logic as the major analytical tool