Standpoint Epistemology and Nursing Science

Abstract

In this article, I propose that engagement in nursing practice affords an epistemic advantage and should be included in defining nursing science and as a warrant for scientific knowledge. I appeal to standpoint epistemology, a philosophical theory, to support my proposal. A new conception of objectivity, which aligns with the contemporary practice of science and standpoint theory, is discussed. The article presents a preliminary theory of nursing standpoint theory that explains epistemic advantage of a practicing nurse. Open questions about nursing science conclude the article.

Notes on [post]human nursing: What It MIGHT Be, What it is Not

“…Owing a large debt to indigenous knowledge ways, FNMs also have roots that can be traced to the beginnings of feminist philosophies of science (Haraway, 1988; Harding, 1991). For nursing, FNM may also have familiar roots in standpoint epistemology, a theory that understands that the perspective we hold as individuals are shaped by social and political experiences (e.g., Abrums, 2004; Barbee, 1994; Jagger, 2004; Reed, 2022; Risjord, 2009). FNM is an entry point into understanding nursing from a critical posthuman perspective because FNM emphasizes the entanglement of humans and more‐than‐humans in the production of reality, including the material, social, and cultural world (Aranda, 2019; Dillard‐Wright, 2022; Dillard‐Wright & Shields‐Haas, 2021).…”

Disciplinary Maturity in Moving From Nurse Scientist to Nursing Scientist

“…Furthermore, I propose that nonnurse scientists may use their nonprofessional nursing practices to gain insights that enhance their understanding of nursing phenomena and ability to conceptualize research questions that contribute to nursing knowledge in their work as nursing scientists (Reed, 2022). This new paradigm, then, which shifts our language and thinking from nurse scientist to nursing scientist, employs a more sustainable concept to describe all of our scientists and doctoral students—not in terms of a role ( nurse ) but in terms of nursing , as a science and practice with a substantive focus on human-environment-health processes and the caregiving practices that foster these processes.…”

“…In the meantime, from my nursing standpoint (Reed, 2022), I too champion practice in pathways to excellence for the research doctorate and advancing nursing knowledge. But my definition of practice is more generic and not professionalized, grounded in the belief that nursing practice is not only a professional activity but first a human process.…”

Experience of Caring as Source of Abductive Reasoning in Nursing: a Pragmatic Vision

“…(5) In turn, the science of nursing is defined as the systematic investigation of health and healing processes between humans and their environment, so that it integrates diverse sources of knowledge, like ethics, science, and the nursing practice. (9) Thus, the practice influences positively on the development of knowledge, not only in the context of discovery, in which nursing professionals and scientists are inspired and formulate theoretical ideas to study a problem; but also in the context of justification, epistemic area that permits nursing professionals and scientists to systematically examine, test, and refine their theories. (9) This configuration entails theories requiring sufficient empirical heritage and which, in turn, are useful from scientific evidence for nursing professionals, considered situated connoisseurs.…”

“…(9) Thus, the practice influences positively on the development of knowledge, not only in the context of discovery, in which nursing professionals and scientists are inspired and formulate theoretical ideas to study a problem; but also in the context of justification, epistemic area that permits nursing professionals and scientists to systematically examine, test, and refine their theories. (9) This configuration entails theories requiring sufficient empirical heritage and which, in turn, are useful from scientific evidence for nursing professionals, considered situated connoisseurs. (10) Pragmatism, abductive reasoning, and nursing Pragmatism is not concerned with discovering or demonstrating absolute truths, instead, it is interested in how actions create possibilities that explain best the problems of human daily life.…”