PHILOSOPHICAL THINKING IN NURSING

PHILOSOPHY?
According to DePauw university (2023) Philosophy is an ancient discipline, which probably
began as early as human civilization, that sought knowledge of all things on earth and in
heaven. Knowledge of natural things and their causes lead to the creation of physics and
metaphysics.
Knowledge of human affairs and their constitutive relations lead to the creation of ethics,
politics, and the philosophy of history.
Knowledge of heavenly things leads to cosmology and speculative theology. Philosophy in
the ancient world was the parent of most scientific disciplines.

In order to understand philosophy you must not only grasp its subject matter, such as
metaphysics and ethics, but also its method. In western philosophy the method to obtain
knowledge is rooted in the philosopher's ability to form and evaluate arguments.

In Asian philosophy there is greater emphasis on knowledge of the Way to live a life
harmonizing the individual with her natural and social world. But in all cultures philosophy
requires that we think critically: to be clear, precise, well-organized, truthful, complete, and
able to handle objections. The study of critical thinking is called logic.

To be philosophical is to be a logical thinker who seeks knowledge of the whole. In this way
philosophers avoid unsupported beliefs but base their views on good reason and evidence.
Philosophers demand of themselves and others that they have reasoned logical belief.

The study of philosophy is varied. Since philosophy seeks knowledge of the whole, that is, of
all things that are subject to disciplined inquiry, there are virtually endless kinds of
philosophy. Traditionally most students of philosophy study
(a) the history of philosophy, and
(b) systematic areas of philosophy. These two ways complement each other, since the
articulation of philosophical problems and proposed solutions have developed over many
centuries, and philosophical history often defines how the problems and proposed solutions
are understood today.

Examples of the history of philosophy would be:

(1) Ancient Philosophy, or from Socrates to Augustine;
(2) Medieval Philosophy, or from Augustine to Machiavelli; and
(3) Modern Philosophy, or from Descartes to Kant.
Examples of systematic/branches of philosophy would be
(1) metaphysics, or the study of reality;
(2) ethics, or the study of what is morally right and good;
(3) Epistemology, or the study of how we know reality;
(4) logic, or the study of good arguments;
(5) Aesthetics or the Philosophy of Art, or the study of appreciating the beautiful and theory
of art; and
(6) Social-Political Philosophy, or the study of political and legal theories.
Beyond these traditions lie a host of specialized inquiries, such as, Philosophy of Language,
which studies how we communicate linguistically using signs; Philosophy of Law which
studies how legal theories apply to specific cases; Business Ethics which deals with the
application of ethical theories to moral issues in both the work and market places; Philosophy
of Sex and Gender which deals with how ethical and social theories relate to understanding
and evaluating the status of women, and men.

Students of philosophy often seek extensive knowledge in one or more of these areas as well
as in the traditional areas. Philosophers are, then, pursuers of knowledge who seek both the
knowledge of the whole as well as specialized branches of study.

Philosophers are intellectuals who typically speak and write well. They favor debate and the
testing of conventions and beliefs. They are "gadflies" who ask questions which disturb those
whose beliefs are uncritically accepted. Philosophers seek to understand themselves through a
comprehension and evaluation of positions, arguments, ideas, and belief systems. They are
usually committed to discovering truth and acting for the good.

Philosophers when they accomplish their goals are often wise and contented individuals.
They show that philosophy is not simply an academic discipline; it is a way to live.

What is philosophy?
Philosophy is a large branch of academic study that examines the fundamental nature of
knowledge, reality and existence. It is a complex and thought-provoking subject that also
asks questions of our humanity and morality.
The word 'philosophy' itself actually provides one of the most succinct definitions of what the
subject is - it comes from the Greek word 'philosophia', meaning 'love of wisdom'. This very
literal translation highlights how philosophy is all about gaining knowledge and wisdom by
examining and questioning the world around us.

Three main types of philosophy

As philosophy is such a broad area of study with many different schools of thought, it is often
thought of in three distinct parts:

 Natural philosophy - this part is concerned with studying the natural and
physical world around us

 Moral philosophy - this part is focussed on the study of right and wrong, justice
and morality as a whole

 Metaphysical philosophy - this is the study of existence, God and logic

The origins of western philosophy

The history of western philosophy is well-known and included many famous Greek and
Roman philosophers, such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Pythagoras. These are just a few
of the many philosophers who helped to define our approach to philosophy in the western
world.
The majority of these important figures involved with forming modern western philosophical
ideas and traditions were not solely philosophers. Many of them were also mathematicians,
writers, astronomers, poets and more. Some would argue that their interest in other fields
would fuel their desire to find the answers to the 'bigger questions' that philosophy often
seeks to deconstruct.

The founding fathers

Socrates
Socrates is one of the most well-known Greek philosophers and is often considered as one of
the founders of western philosophy, despite not actually writing down any of his teachings.
Historians have learnt about Socrates and his ideas through the accounts of one of his
students, Plato.
However, many believe that, because Socrates' teachings were only captured by one of his
students, we never truly know the full details of Socrates' philosophical teachings. Socrates
was largely considered with moral philosophy, establishing the 'Socratic method' in which he
examined key moral concepts such as good and justice.
Plato
Plato played a pivotal role in establishing some of the key pillars of western philosophy, as
well as being one of the founders of western religion and spirituality. After being a student of
Socrates, Plato went on to establish many key ideas that form the basis for most philosophical
study today. For example, Plato was the innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms
in philosophy as well as a pioneer of political philosophy.
Plato also created 'the Academy' - the first institution of higher learning in the western world.
One of Plato's most famous students was Aristotle, who he taught for around twenty years
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THE 6 MAIN BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY

1. Metaphysics is mainly concerned with explaining the nature of being (existence) and
the world. Traditionally, it has two different study areas, including Cosmology and
Ontology.

Cosmology is focused on understanding the origin, evolution, and the eventual fate of the
universe, which include laws that keep it in functioning order. On the other hand,

Ontology investigates various types of things that exist and their relationship with each
other. Long before the discovery of modern science, all the science-related questions were
asked as a part of Metaphysics.
2. Epistemology is about the study of knowledge. What can we know? How can we
know something (or someone)? Epistemology also asks questions such as, can
knowledge ever be absolute, or is it only ever relative to a particular
situation/event/person/fact? Is there a limit for humans to know certain things? What
justifies truth claims? These are some of the essential questions Epistemology seeks
answers for.
3. Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is often referred to as the study of morality.
It seeks to address questions about how we should live our lives, how we define
proper conduct, and what we mean by the good life. It’s a study that teaches us what
the virtuous life is like and how we can put these virtues into practice. Ethics concerns
itself with questions like, what is the good life? How should we act? What do we
mean by virtue? What does “right” even mean?
4. Aesthetics as a philosophical subject is wholly devoted to defining the different
aspects of beauty and art. How do we find something beautiful? Is beauty always
subjective or can it be objective too? Can everyone find a thing/process/event/person
beautiful? Aesthetics also examines individual tastes and attempts to provide answers
about these things in a scientific manner.

5. Logic is the branch of philosophy that studies reasoning. It teaches us how to

differentiate between good and bad reasoning and how to construct valid arguments.
It seeks answers to questions like, what is valid reasoning? How can you distinguish
between a good argument and a bad argument? How can you spot fallacies or errors
in an argument?

6. Political Philosophy studies political government, laws, liberty, justice, rights,

authority, political states and systems, ethics, and more related concepts under a
variety of analytic lenses. Political philosophy helps us to understand why we need
governments, the role played by governments, and what are its constituents, amongst
other things. It can also help guide public policy formation through the use of
informative and creative thought experiments (e.g. Rawls’s Reflective Equilibrium).
What Is a Philosophy of Nursing?
A philosophy of nursing is a statement that outlines a nurse’s values, ethics, and beliefs, as
well as their motivation for being part of the profession. It covers a nurse’s perspective
regarding their education, practice, and patient care ethics. A philosophy of nursing helps you
identify the beliefs and theories that shape the choices you make on the job every day.
Why is philosophy important in nursing?
The nature of philosophy gives a significant influence on the way nurse examines the
phenomena which happen on the field. Together with nursing ethics, it is needed for nursing
practice, as the basic elements of rights, giving value and the nature to perform good nursing
practice.
According to the Lipman's model, philosophy provides a basis for professional knowledge
and professional nursing care, and actually refers to the skills of critical thinking, creative
thinking and caring thinking, confirming the ability of nurses to analyse, combine,
rationalize, predict and think about the ideas, feelings and belief of others.

1. The Role of Philosophy in Nursing Knowledge and Education

Nurses have been taught about proper thinking over the years. Appropriate thinking is
valuable in both the nursing education and other professions (Dombayci etal 2011).

In modern university education systems, the ultimate goal is to produce people beyond the
technicians who carry out routine tasks in their profession. Graduates of these systems must
have creativity, imagination, communication skills, and ability to analysing and combining
situations. Targeted approaches in medical education are based on multidisciplinary
integration and teaching individuals to respond to rapid changes in the community. In
addition, professional members of the community are required to develop skills and acquire
knowledge to fulfill their roles and tasks.

Although many theorists have made efforts to propose rational methods for achieving these
objectives, philosophy is historically the winner of this field and among the models and
methods proposed to teach students, the prominent, innovative and philosophical model
proposed by Matthew Lipman can be used to integrate philosophy with education (Dombayci
etal 2011).

The Lipman’s model is exactly based on the modern world of nurses and the changing nature
of healthcare and globalization in nursing. According to Lipman (2011), skilled thinkers have
a critical, creative and compassionate way of thinking.

Comparing critical to ordinary thinking, Lipman introduced ten components of critical

thinking, namely estimating, evaluating, classifying, assuming, deducing, rationalizing,
understanding the principles, paying attention to mutual relationships, suggesting by reason
and judging by criteria. Creative and critical thinking based on this model is more associated
with the cognitive domain of Bloom’s taxonomy, whereas caring thinking is more related to
the emotional domain of this taxonomy.
 According to the Lipman’s model, philosophy provides a basis for professional knowledge
and professional nursing care, and actually refers to the skills of critical thinking, creative
thinking and caring thinking, confirming the ability of nurses to analyse, combine,
rationalize, predict and think about the ideas, feelings and beliefs of others (Khoshnavay
Fomani etal 2013).

Philosophical attitudes, especially in critical realism schools, help focus on changeable rather
than unchangeable factors in the nursing education.

Philosophical schools provide nursing educators with different educational methods to

improve nursing education standards and evaluate, monitor, plan and measure the
effectiveness of educational methods. It also facilitates the philosophy of evaluation programs
in nursing education and especially in terms of evaluating and comparing the effectiveness of
educational programs in nursing students with different demographic characteristics.

2. The Role of Philosophy in Nurses’ Insight

Philosophy is conceptually related to the main phenomena in nursing. The philosophical

umbrella of contents affects nurses’ insight into the nature of nursing, personality, the
environment, health and diseases in terms of cognition. The epistemology of nursing is
considered the main factor in developing insight and identifying these concepts [nursing,
personality, the environment, health and diseases] as the main paradigms of nursing.

Ethical insight in nursing refers to the ethical phenomena encountered in the nursing practice
and fundamental elements, rights and values as well as the nature of good and professional
nursing as the core of philosophical thinking (Chinn 2023).

Philosophy can be used as content for clinical nurses, nursing educators and nursing
researchers, and for defining nursing goals and nurses’ attitudes to these goals in healthcare
programs (7). Understanding the nature of appropriate nursing care and the relevant nursing
knowledge can help nurses understand their roles in institutions and promote their insights
into the nursing practice mechanism.

Nurses can accordingly use care giving methods based on medical models and
comprehensive and humanitarian care giving. Acquiring an appropriate understanding of
nursing care and the philosophy for fulfilling these actions as nursing clinical skills by nurses
therefore helps nursing practices be performed in a targeted and high-quality manner.

3. The Role of Philosophy in Nurses’ Competence

The objectives of patient care are based on the acquisition of knowledge and skills. A
qualitative study by Buller and Butterworth evaluated skilful nursing elements and found that
the performance of skilled nurses to include work procedure, professionalism, appropriate
communication and management as well as facilitating , suggesting that skilled nurses are
thoughtful, as the basis for providing healthcare includes professional care, communicating
with patients, their families and other members of the care team as well as having
management and thinking skills.

As an important thinking style among the different types and an integral part of social life,
critical thinking simply refers to one’s ability to analyse and evaluate information.
Developing critical thinking is therefore considered a fundamental educational objective at
different levels. Critical thinking is a mental process and a philosophical issue in
epistemology, which can be used for a better understanding of complicated ideas, and can
help nurses analyse experiences and situations, and more effectively evaluate challenges of
beliefs, values and hypotheses.

According to Watson and Glazer, critical thinking is a combination of knowledge, attitude

and performance in each person, and involves skills such as deducing, identifying the
hypotheses, inferring, analysing and rationalizing. As the main path leading to comprehensive
and holistic care, critical thinking lays the foundations for humanitarian care in addition to
medical care.

Experienced nurses should have critical thinking skills, which are required for skilful and
humanitarian care. Creative thinking is one way to achieve competence in nursing, and is the
process of analysing, synthesizing and evaluating information. Given its direct effects on
clinical complications in patients, creative thinking is considered a valuable concept in
nursing practices and effective clinical decision-making, and in the field of nursing care, it
refers to thinking when analysing the status of patients, considering the position, demands
and feelings of patients., using nursing practices and identifying the appropriate time for
alternative therapies.