Technology and the lifeworld of critical care nursing

Traditionally, nursing scholars have concerned themselves with philosophies of science. This perspective reflects the Platonic dominance of theory over practice. The consequence of this view is that technology is conceived as an applied science. Furthermore, technology is considered as a neutral instrument of science. The primacy of theory was challenged by the philosopher Martin Heidegger, who argued that the correct relationship between these two concepts was a technology-science one. This reconceptualization suggests that practice precedes theory. This paper examines the developing body of literature concerning the philosophy of technology. Specifically, the philosophies of Martin Heidegger, Don Ihde, Albert Borgmann and Langdon Winner are explored from a nursing perspective, and how they may offer nursing a way of conceptualizing the ever expanding technological environment of the intensive care unit is discussed.