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PubMed2001

Philosophy: a key to open the door to critical thinking.

It has been suggested that philosophy is a bit like manure: pile it high and it rots and stinks, but spread it around and it becomes surprisingly useful. Philosophical enquiry, used sparingly, can provide a means to develop critical and analytical ability in nurses. A key principle of philosophical enquiry is the development of skills to rigorously examine and debate ideas or explanations about, for example, the nature of being human. In recent years nurses have been exhorted to critically examine or critically analyse nursing knowledge and nursing theory. It is contended that nurses have rarely been formally prepared during their education to develop the necessary critical thinking skills to examine some of the central questions about the nature of their role, and the knowledge needed to be effective in that role. This paper will discuss the development and experience of delivering a module called 'Nursing: Art and Science' within a post-registration degree programme. It is argued that philosophical enquiry offers one means of equipping nurses with the critical capacity to examine the issues which may shape the future of nursing practice.

Education, Nursing, Graduate↗
PubMed2000

[Truth and truthfulness in philosophy].

Truth and truthfulness are traditional subjects of philosophy. The paper discusses different concepts of truth (epistemological, ontological, normative) and different theories about the acquisition of truth (truth as correspondence, coherence or consensus, pragmatic theories of truth, and truth as immediate subjective evidence). The last part deals with the moral question of truthfulness or sincerity and its conflict with benevolence in cases of patient information about a fatal illness.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Some psychoanalytic implications of Chinese philosophy and child-rearing practices.

An examination of Chinese philosophy serves to highlight the differences between Chinese and Western Europeans with regard to beliefs about the nature of man, the ideal man, and general world view. These guide child rearing practices which in turn encourage specific personality traits and values. This paper deals with some implications that these differences have for psychoanalytic theory.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Sociology, history, and philosophy in the Research Quarterly.

The accounts of our subdiscipline's contributions to The Research Quarterly are similar. Sociology, history, and philosophy operate at some distance from the biological sciences. The research methods used by scholars in each of our domains address distinctive issues related to objectivity and, thus, validity. Our contributions to The Research Quarterly have been modest, numbering about 240 articles, or slightly over 3 per volume. In short, we have enjoyed only a minority presence in The Research Quarterly during its 75 years of existence. Our stories, however, also diverge in important ways. Our research methods are different, and our relationships with our parent disciplines are not the same. In addition, our perceptions of The Research Quarterly as a potential repository for our respective publications vary considerably.

Exercise↗
PubMed1998

Can biological activity be maintained at ultra-high dilution? An overview of homeopathy, evidence, and Bayesian philosophy.

Forty percent of general practitioners in the Netherlands practice homeopathy. With over 100 homeopathic medical schools, homeopathy is practiced in India along with conventional Western medicine in government clinics. In Britain, 42% of general practitioners refer patients to homeopaths. Two recent meta-analyses of homeopathy both indicate that there is enough evidence to show that homeopathy has added effects over placebo. Against this evidence is a backdrop of considerable scientific scepticism. Homeopathic remedies are diluted substances--some are so diluted that statistically there are no molecules present to explain their proposed biological effects (ultra-high dilutions or UHDs). Without knowledge of the evidence, most scientists would reject UHD effects because of their intrinsic implausibility in the light of our current scientific understanding. The objective of this article is to critically review the major pieces of evidence on UHD effects and suggest how the scientific community should respond to its challenge. Such evidence has been conducted on a diverse range of assays--immunologic, physiological, behavioral, biochemical, and clinical in the form of trials of homeopathic remedies. Evidence of UHD effects has attracted the attention of physicists who have speculated on their physical mechanisms. Included is a critique of several experiments that form the Benveniste affair which was sparked by a publication in Nature that advocated the existence of UHD effects of anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) on human basophils, and is the paradigm example of how a controversial phenomenon can split the scientific community. It is argued that if the phenomenon was uncontroversial, the evidence suffices to show that UHD effects exist. However, given that the observations contradict well-established theory, normal science has to be abandoned and scientists need to decide for themselves what the likelihood of UHD effects are. Bayesian analysis describes how scientists ought rationally to change their prior beliefs in the light of evidence. Theories by Kuhn and Lakatos indicate that whether UHD effects are proved or not depends on the beliefs and behaviors of scientists in their communities. This article argues that there is as yet insufficient evidence to drive rational scientists to a consensus over UHD effects, even if they possessed knowledge of all the evidence. The difficulty in publishing high-quality UHD research in conventional journals prevents a fair assessment of UHD effects. Given that the existence of UHD effects would revolutionize science and medicine, and given the considerable empirical evidence of them, the philosophies of science tell us that possible UHD effects warrant serious investigation by conventional scientists and serious attention by scientific journals.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Popper's philosophy for epidemiologists.

This paper discusses the application of Popper's philosophy to epidemiological research, examining in particular the problems of replication without risk of refutation, of mistaking statistical sophistication for deductive inference, and of dealing with causality at a general level. An example is given of a Popperian approach to the test of a causal hypothesis concerning cancer of the cervix.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

What is applied about "applied" philosophy?

"Applied" is a technical term describing a variety of new philosophical enterprises. The author examines and rejects the view that these fields are derivative. Whatever principles, judgments, or background theories that are employed to solve problems in these areas are either changed by how they are used, or at least the possibility exists of their being changed. Hence we ought to stop calling these endeavors "applied", or agree that the meaning of "apply" will have to include the possibility that what is applied may be changed. The so-called applied fields of philosophy, therefore, are not derivative. The strongest cases to the contrary are the foundationalist views that what we apply is epistemically privileged. Different foundationalist views take different principles, judgments, or background theories to be epistemically privileged. Strong and weak versions of each of these foundationalist views are considered but none establish these fields as derivative.

Biology↗
PubMed1990

The role of philosophy in public policy and bioethics: introduction.

As various societies have created public commissions to help develop proposals for public policies relating to issues in bioethics, philosophers have sometimes been called upon to serve on the staff of, or to provide consultation to, these public bodies. This issue of the Journal is devoted to examining problems that arise as one tries to articulate the proper role of philosophers serving in these capacities. It includes articles by Frances M. Kamm ("The philosopher as insider and outsider"), Martin Benjamin ("Philosophical integrity and policy development in bioethics"), Richard W. Momeyer ("Philosophers and the public policy process: inside, outside, or nowhere at all?"), Paul T. Menzel ("Public philosophy: distinction without authority"), and E. Haavi Morreim (Physician investment and self-referral: philosophical analysis of a contentious debate").

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed1996

Philosophy, literature, and ethics: let the engagement begin.

The goal is to isolate points of philosophical interest in the preceding articles on narrative medical ethics in order to focus subsequent dialogue between the two disciplines. Ethics is an enterprise that has over the centuries developed a somewhat malleable structure, comprising characteristics, methods, lines of reasoning, rules, principles, assumptions, and arguments. This structure provides the framework within which many disciplines contribute to ethics through the exercise of their particular interests, skills, and methods. Challenging or changing the structural components requires arguments of a traditional sort appropriate to the discipline of ethics. Three tenets are proposed as comprising the "received view" or credo of the literature and ethics movement. Each is examined. Then the individual articles in this issue are explored to the end of ferreting out points that would be fruitful points of discussion between philosophy and literature folks pursuing their mutual interest in ethics.

Ethical Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Does epidemiology need a new philosophy? A case study of logical inquiry in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome epidemic.

The proposals of Popperian epidemiologists are examined using acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) research as a case study. Hypothesis generation is shown to be mostly an inductive process in the case of AIDS. For hypothesis testing, researchers again preferred inductive verification over deductive falsification. Action-oriented disciplines, such as medicine and epidemiology, search for common sense certainty and not logical uncertainty. Insistence on falsification is often counterproductive. Induction and deduction, however, are not mutually exclusive. Conventional scientific methods, using both induction and deduction, appear to perform well in elucidating this latest epidemic, and Popper's philosophy has little to offer epidemiologists and other medical researchers.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reflecting professional values in the philosophy of nursing.

If nurses are to remain central in restructuring efforts, their professional values must be at the core. Nurse administrators play a key role in promulgating values. The authors examined philosophy of nursing documents to identify professional values and found them to be lacking. They discuss their findings and their implications for nurse executives.

American Nurses' Association↗
PubMed2000

Values expressed in philosophies of nursing services.

Do nurses value "caring"? Does it matter that nurses respect individual rights while caring for groups of patients? What values are shared by nurses and are they evident in institutions? How important are nursing values in a changing healthcare system? Should nurse administrators ensure that nursing values remain integral to managed care? What is the nurse's responsibility for communicating nursing values throughout the organization? The authors discuss the values expressed in nursing service philosophies and how they reflect a changing healthcare system.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using art to express a personal philosophy of nursing.

The authors describe an innovative teaching strategy using art to express personal philosophy of nursing. This teaching strategy gives students and faculty an opportunity to be creative and to express their personal feelings about the nature of nursing.

Art↗
PubMed2002

Applying the theory of constraints in health care: Part 1--The philosophy.

The imperative to improve both technical and service quality while simultaneously reducing costs is quite clear. The Theory of Constraints (TOC) is an emerging philosophy that rests on two assumptions: (1) systems thinking and (2) if a constraint "is anything that limits a system from achieving higher performance versus its goal," then every system must have at least one (and at most no more than a few) constraints or limiting factors. A constraint is neither good nor bad in itself. Rather, it just is. In fact, recognition of the existence of constraints represents an excellent opportunity for improvement because it allows one to focus ones efforts in the most productive area--identifying and managing the constraints. This is accomplished by using the five focusing steps of TOC: (1) identify the system's constraint; (2) decide how to exploit it; (3) subordinate/synchronize everything else to the above decisions; (4) elevate the system's constraint; and (5) if the constraint has shifted in the above steps, go back to step 1. Do not allow inertia to become the system's constraint. TOC also refers to a series of tools termed "thinking processes" and the sequence in which they are used.

Accounting↗
PubMed2003

Quality of life philosophy VI. The concepts.

The about a hundred central concepts related to research in the global quality of life can, in a holistic medical frame of interpretation, be organized under ten abstract key concepts: existence, creation of the world, state of being, daily living, talents, relations, sex, health, personal development, and therapy with subthemes as discussed in this paper. The paper shows that the concepts in each group can be seen as related to each other in a quite intuitive and logical way, to give a coherent quality of life philosophy that allows the physician to encourage, inspire, and support his patient. In every consultation, one new concept and idea of existence can be taught to the patient, helping him or her to realize the meaning of life, the source of joy, and the reason for the actual suffering. In this way, we help the patient to mobilize hidden and known resources and to improve quality of life, subjective health, and the ability to function. The concepts were harvested in 2003 at a Nordic seminar on quality of life research, held in Sweden. Life does not only cohere on the inside, but also on the outside. The same power that ties together all the cells in our body, seems to tie us together in relationships and new wholeness. This power evolves into new kinds of relations that unite on more and more complex levels, with the global ecosystem as the highest known level. Our intentions come from this coherent matrix of life. In the beginning of our life, the web of life itself gave birth to our fundamental purpose of life. The abstract purpose determines the frame of interpretation of reality: How we will perceive ourselves throughout life, our inner life, and the world around us. The frame of interpretation is pitched in language and concepts, in fact it creates our perceptions. Based on these perceptions and our purposes of life, our behavior arises. Our consciousness evolves through the witnessing of our behavior and through the response caused by it. Through the slowly acquired mastering of our surrounding world, we obtain our power, which gives us success in life, when we use it responsibly and unite it in harmony with our deepest purpose of life. When many people experience not having success, it is because they are not conscious about their original purpose or the deepest meaning of their lives. They do not know themselves. They do not experience the world in that way and do not realize that they themselves are the cause. Therefore responsibility and self-knowledge, which add up to wisdom, are the ways to a good and successful life.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Philosophy of science: how to identify the potential research for the day after tomorrow?

We were asked to participate in a workshop to assist the European Commission on how to choose financial support for high-potential, basic research projects that can give new scientific breakthroughs and thus contribute significantly to the positive development of society, industry, and economy for the day after tomorrow. At this workshop, we analyzed the problem in some detail using experience from our own research on the global quality of life. We would suggest that the most promising projects have the following characteristics: (1) they are led by a brilliant researcher who considers his/her research to be "sweet science", who wants to explain the anomalies of his/her field of science, and who lives in a nonmainstream scientific paradigm; (2) they are deeply engaged in the philosophical problems of their research field, they are searching eagerly for a new understanding and a new theory, giving new tools for measurement and creating change, and results are taken as feedback on all levels from tool to theory and philosophy; (3) they are focused on the key point(s), which is an essential feature of the universe that creates global change if intervened upon. At the NEST Pathfinder 2005 Topic Identification Workshop, Brussels 28 May 2004 entitled "Measuring the Impossible", we advised the European Commission Research Directorate to allocate funds for projects focusing on the state of consciousness--how to understand it, how to map it, and how to develop it.

Humans↗
PubMed1992

Empowerment in nursing education: concept analysis and application to philosophy, learning and instruction.

The Walker & Avant strategy is used to complete a concept analysis of empowerment. Empowerment is defined as the interpersonal process of providing the proper tools, resources and environment to build, develop and increase the ability and effectiveness of others to set and reach goals for individual and social ends. Empowerment occurs between two or more people: the person who empowers and the person(s) who is (are) empowered. The Murrell-Armstrong Empowerment matrix, with six categories of empowering behaviours, provides the theoretical framework. References from organizational, nursing, educational and sociological literature provide support for the defining attributes, antecedents and consequences of empowerment. A conceptual map depicts these relationships and demonstration cases serve to make the ideas more apparent. The concept of empowerment is applied to philosophy, learning and instruction. Pragmatism reflects the ideas presented on empowerment because both embrace individual and social goals, the student is active in the learning process, learning is lifelong, and the appropriate environment, tools and resources for learning must be present. Kolb's experimental learning model corresponds with empowerment and pragmatism. The works of Dewey, Lewin, Piaget, Rogers and Freire are used as the basis for the model. Kolb describes learning as a four-step process that includes concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Transformative instruction is based on Freire's critical pedagogy, Belenky et al.'s connected teaching, Schön's reflection-in-action, and activities that allow students to complete the experimental learning cycle. Several strategies that promote transformative instruction are discussed.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1996

Back to the future--the history and philosophy of medicine experiment at Sydney University.

History and Philosophy of Medicine has been a compulsory unit in the first year of the medical curriculum at Sydney University for the past decade. Volunteer tutors are drawn from most clinical and basic science departments, and each year the programme is organized on a theme of current importance in medical practice. This course began as an experiment because no resources were available for specialist staff, but has proved outstandingly successful in generating both student and teaching staff interest and support for the programme. Students present short tutorial papers to their peer group followed by submission of an essay which takes into account the tutorial discussion. The open book examination includes analysis of an unseen piece of primary source material as well as questions derived from the classwork. The Faculties of Arts and Science encouraged this educational experiment and several medical students have now opted to undertake a year of historical research during the intercalated B Sci(Med) programme, and a number of the tutors have enrolled in postgraduate historial or ethical programmes. We suggest that this model may permit introduction of novel courses in times of financial cutback within the Universities, and even allow a foundation to be laid for future development.

Curriculum↗