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The Large-Scale Cultivation of Nematodes to Study Their Collective Behaviors
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Published on: August 25, 2023

Is there unity within the discipline?

Roger A Newham1

  • 1Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London, UK. newhamra@lsbu.ac.uk

Nursing Philosophy : an International Journal for Healthcare Professionals
|June 8, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Nursing is not defined by a unique moral stance. This paper argues that attempts to unify nursing through morality fail, as human nature accounts rely on prior morality, not the reverse.

Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Science
  • Bioethics
  • Nursing Ethics

Background:

  • The concept of a unifying moral stance in nursing is explored.
  • The need for a definition to identify essential features of nursing is discussed.
  • Two types of definitions for nursing are examined: goal-oriented and discovered ends.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically evaluate the claim that nursing is unified by a unique moral stance.
  • To investigate the epistemological challenges of discovering and applying moral ends in nursing.
  • To analyze the role of human nature in defining nursing's moral framework.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of definitions and moral epistemology.
  • Examination of arguments linking human nature to nursing morality.

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  • Critique of attempts to ground nursing's unity in a distinct moral code.
  • Main Results:

    • The claim that nursing is unified by a unique moral stance is challenged.
    • Knowledge by intuition is deemed insufficient for providing nursing's unifying ground.
    • Defining nursing through a specific account of human nature is shown to be circular, as human nature itself depends on morality.

    Conclusions:

    • Nursing is not unified by a strong, unique moral stance.
    • Current moral epistemology does not support nursing's unity through a distinct ethical code.
    • The lack of a unique moral stance may not be detrimental to nursing practice or patient care.