History & Philosophy of Science

ELAINE FRANCES M. ILLO, RM, RN, MAN Republic of the Philippines CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES Nabua, Camarines Sur COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES  “Philosophy in its broadest sense is wondering and being curious about the “big” or fundamental questions that humans have grappled with through...

ELAINE FRANCES M. ILLO, RM, RN, MAN Republic of the Philippines CAMARINES SUR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGES Nabua, Camarines Sur COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES  “Philosophy in its broadest sense is wondering and being curious about the “big” or fundamental questions that humans have grappled with throughout the history. Questions about “what is real?” (ontology), “what is knowable? (epistemology), “is this just?” (ethics), and “is there an art to caring?” (aesthetics) are considered indispensable reflections in nursing practice.” —BRUCE, RIETZE & LIM 2014 01 NURSING AS A SCIENCE  as a 1. Science is logical, systematic, & coherent way to solve problems and answer questions. 2. It is a collection of facts known in area and the process used to obtain that knowledge.  02 NURSING & PHILOSOPHY NURSING AND PHILOSOPHY Ø Philosophy studies concepts that structure thought processes, foundations, and presumptions. Ø It is an approach for thinking about the nature of people, the methods that should be used to create a scientific knowledge and the ethics involved. It denotes a perspective, implying a certain broad, “taken for granted” assumptions. EPISTEMOLOGY ---- a branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge. It is referred to as the “theory of knowledge”  HISTORICAL VIEWS OF THE NATURE OF SCIENCE 01 RATIONALISM It is the use of the rational senses in ensuring the truthfulness of a phenomenon 02 EMPIRICISM It is the way of looking at reality using the five general senses of sight, touch, hearing, taste, and smell.  Rationalism Empiricism Knowledge is based on the use of Knowledge is based on experience reason or logic and experimentation Mathematics is the paradigm of Experimental science is the knowledge paradigm of knowledge Genuine knowledge is certain Experience and experiment rarely Believes in intuition Does not believe in intuition Aims at discovering the language Aims at analyzing language as it of human mind occurs Assigns categories to language Assigns probabilities to language units units  Early 12 th Century Views of SCIENCE & THEORY § Philosophers focused on the analysis of theory structure whereas, o Scientists focused on empirical research o Positivism (imposed on the mind by experience) is the philosophy of science that information is derived from logical and mathematical treatments and reports of sensory experience is the exclusive source of all authoritative knowledge. Emergent views in the th Late 20 Century of SCIENCE & THEORY  Empiricists argue that for science to maintain its objectivity, data collection and analysis must be independent of a theory. Brown argues that the new epistemology challenged the empiricist view of perception by acknowledging that theories play a significant role in determining what the scientist will observe and how it will be interpreted.  He identified 3 different views of the relationship between theories and observation: 1. Scientists are merely passive observers of occurrences in the empirical world. Observable data are objective truth waiting to be discovered. 2. Theories structure what the scientists perceived in the empirical world. 3. Presupposed theories and observable data interact in the process of scientific investigation. INTERDEPENDENCE BETWEEN Theory & Research  A theory should be judged based on the basis of scientific consensus. The acceptance of scientific hypothesis through research depends on the appraisal of the coherence of theory Dubin identified when scientific consensus is necessary: 1. on the boundaries of the theory; the phenomenon it addresses and what it excludes 2. on the logic used in constructing the theory to further understanding from a similar perspective 3. that the theory fits the data collected and analyzed though research  Issues in Nursing Philosophy & Science Development Ø 1980s - Further acceptance of nursing theory and its incorporation in the nursing curricula; publication of several nursing journals Ø 1990s - Nursing as a basic science, an applied science, or a practical science  Progress in the Discipline of Nursing (Meleis) Ø Practice Ø Education and Administration Ø Research Ø Development of Nursing Theory Peplau developed the first theory of nursing practice in her book, Interpersonal Relations in Nursing (1952) Journal of Nursing Research (1952) 1960s and 1970s – analysis and debate on the metatheoretical issues related to theory development  Postpositivism focuses on discovering the patterns that may describe a phenomena. Interpretive paradigm tends to promote understanding by addressing the meanings the participants social interaction that emphasize situation, context and multiple cognitive constructions that individuals create on everyday events. Critical paradigm for knowledge development in nursing , provides framework for inquiring about the interaction between the social, political, economic, gender and cultural factors and experiences of health and illness. “Philosophy of science without history of science is empty; history of science without philosophy of science is blind” -Imre Lakatos