Nursing knowledge and the problem of worldviews.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Philosophy
• Epistemology
• Nursing Knowledge Development

Background:

• Nurse scholars widely accept worldviews as the basis for nursing conceptions and inquiry.
• Current nursing epistemology faces challenges rooted in the concept of worldviews.
• The reliance on worldviews is seen as an obstacle to developing organized nursing knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critique the foundational role of worldviews in nursing knowledge development.
• To propose an alternative philosophical grounding for nursing inquiry.
• To argue for moderate realism as a more effective basis for nursing science.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of the concept of worldviews in nursing.
• Critique of epistemological problems arising from worldview-based nursing inquiry.
• Argument for the adoption of moderate realism in nursing philosophy.

Main Results:

• The persistent use of worldviews as a basis for nursing inquiry creates intractable epistemological problems.
• The discipline's goal of developing an organized body of nursing knowledge for practice remains unrealized due to this reliance.
• Moderate realism offers a viable alternative that avoids the pitfalls associated with worldviews.

Conclusions:

• The nursing discipline should abandon worldviews as the foundation for nursing conceptions and inquiry.
• Adopting moderate realism can facilitate the development of a more coherent and robust body of nursing knowledge.
• Grounding nursing in moderate realism is essential for advancing nursing science and practice.