Teaching Philosophy of Science in Nursing Doctoral Education

Journal of Nursing Scholarship First Quarter 2003 87

Profession and Society

Teaching Philosophy of Science inNursing Doctoral EducationJanie Bond Butts, Karen Saucier Lundy

Purposes: To explore the teaching and learning process regarding philosophy of science and tooffer creative recommendations based on classroom experience.

Conceptual Framework: Dewey’s writings about intelligence, deliberation, and critical reflection;Freire’s writings about active knowers provide the foundation for the teaching and learningenvironment for doctoral students.

Methods: A case example is presented. Creative strategies and assignments are used, such asclassroom exploration and connections between nursing, philosophy, philosophy of science,and students’ personal lives; classroom deliberation; journaling; philosophical thinking;development of a philosophical topic such as determinism, freedom, or the mind; andpresentation of a philosophical book.

Conclusions: The philosophy of science course is critical content for doctoral students.

JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, 2003; 35:1, 87-91. ©2003 SIGMA THETA TAU INTERNATIONAL.

[Key words: teaching, learning, critical reflection, philosophy of science,doctoral education]

* * *

Finding effective ways to impart knowledge to newlyenrolled doctoral students about philosophy of sciencein a meaningful participatory way, yet within the

tradition of exploring the nature of science, is a challenge fornursing faculty. Embedded in scientific knowledge are conceptsof logic, theory of reasoning, epistemology, scientificvalidation, and the theory and history of knowledge formation,all of which must be discussed, scrutinized, and analyzedcritically to understand the nature of science. Sometimesscientific concepts seem abstract, vague, and difficult forbeginning doctoral students for several reasons—type ofcontent delivery method, inadequate knowledge of criticalanalysis, and lack of preparation in master’s programs. Thepurpose of this article is: (a) to explore the teaching andlearning process regarding philosophy of science, and (b) tooffer creative recommendations through a case example ofclassroom experience in teaching philosophy of science in adoctoral program in nursing.

The Challenge

Being an educated person means more than being wellinformed, acquiring essential facts, and developing the skillsand the capacities and insights to use that knowledge. Forgraduate students, especially at the doctoral level, beingeducated means going beyond the facts and putting learning

in larger contexts—discovering the connections (Boyer, 1991). Inour experience, one of the major challenges faculty face is the narrow,often dogmatic, task-oriented approaches to educating doctoralstudents in nursing.

Chinn and Kramer (1999) said that theory development is essentialin the advancement of nurses as scholars. She emphasized thateducational programs should provide an environment in whichstudents can explore freely new ideas and insights that promotetheoretical development. Philosophy of science is the groundworkfor theory development and, without it, critical components aremissed, such as inductive and deductive ways of thinking,empiricism, rationalism, and theories of truth. When philosophicalconcepts such as these are considered thoughtfully and then areargued through debates, papers, and classroom discussions, doctoralstudents have the opportunity to progress in their thinking to higherlevels and, ultimately, to advance nursing science and promotepositive nursing and patient outcomes in practice.

In the preparation of doctoral students, the philosophy of sciencecourse can stimulate positive interaction and promote lively

Janie Bond Butts, RN, DSN, Gamma Lambda, Associate Professor; KarenSaucier Lundy, RN, PhD, FAAN, Gamma Lambda, Professor; both atUniversity of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS. Correspondence toDr. Butts, College of Nursing, Southern Station, Box 5095, Hattiesburg,MS 39406-5095. E-mail: [email protected]

Accepted for publication May 22, 2002.

“People are capable any time in their lives of doing what they dream of.”—Paul Coelho, in The Alchemist.

88 First Quarter 2003 Journal of Nursing Scholarship

debates in a safe, nonjudgmental, and accepting academicenvironment. Many nurses rarely have experienced thefreedom of “agreeing to disagree” in a healthy debate, inwhich all ideas are respected, dialogue is engaging, and ideasare promoted and developed. These experiences providedoctoral students with opportunities to share and exchangeinsights with other students and faculty, prepare them for laterdoctoral coursework in research of nursing phenomena, and,ultimately, prepare them to be critically reflective nurses,educators, or advanced practitioners with abstract reasoningand thinking abilities. Freire (1998) emphasized, “The teachershould move the student’s curiosity through progressiveeducational praxis in order to promote a curiosity that iscritical, bold and adventuresome” (p. 38). This type ofcuriosity can insulate students “from the excess of a rationalitythat now inundates our highly technological world” (p. 38).

Philosophy literally means “the love of wisdom” and it isall about asking questions. Nurses, especially those withextensive clinical experience, often find the vagueness andambiguity of philosophy unsettling and frustrating. In teachingphilosophy of science to doctoral students in nursing, facultyface the challenge of such questions as “How can I use andrelate to this?” Students as adult learners and nurses valueutility and efficiency (Boyer, 1990). Few nurses enter doctoralprograms from liberal arts backgrounds; most have little orno course preparation in philosophy. Since Dewey (1938),faculty have believed that the more personally relevant thelearning, the more motivation to pursue new knowledge. Aphilosophy of science course often is one of the first coursesin a doctoral curriculum, presumably because of thefoundation needed for theory building and research. Studentsoften have difficulty with the connectedness of science ideas.Through the use of a variety of teaching strategies and theinvolvement of other disciplines, we have encouraged studentsfirst to make connections to the writings of philosophers suchas Plato, Descartes, Nietzsche, and Kuhn.

One of the difficulties in teaching philosophy of sciencehas been the strong connection of the content to “hard science”linked with positivism, the predominant form of scientificreasoning from the latter 19th century to the middle of the20th century. Positivism has been characterized by real facts,observable phenomena, the rejection of metaphysics, and thedescription of the phenomena. Thus, professors generally teachphilosophy of science in the positivist convention—thepresentation of observed and documented facts in lectures inwhich the responsibility for student learning is placed on theprofessor (Benson, 1989; Brookfield, 1995; Porter, 2001). Therecipients (doctoral students) of such presentations are passivewith no encouragement or facilitation of critical analysis,thinking, reasoning, creativity, which are the critical tenetsof doctoral study.

Transmitting knowledge through lecture has strong pointsbut using lecture on a continuous basis stifles student creativityand prohibits students from being exposed to critical reflection,which is the second reason these mind-expanding concepts oflogic, reasoning, and theory seem difficult. Without exposureto critical analysis as a vehicle for analyzing problems,

phenomena, and situations, students are not equipped to practicethoughtful critical reflection in the classroom or in theirassignments, much less to have the ability to make life decisionswith sufficient foresight and depth. Further, deficiency is thevery reason that nurses return to universities for doctoraldegrees—because those nurses have the desire to develop asscholars, educators, researchers, or in all three roles. Theforemost characteristic of a scholar, ironically, is the ability tobroaden the mind through critical reflection.

Another difficulty in the teaching and learning process in aphilosophy of science course is related to lack of previousexposure to scholarly and scientific concepts. In recent years, aquestion of competency and consistency in nursing doctoralprograms has been raised in many countries, including theUnited States (Chinn, 2001; Ketefian & Redman, 2001; Lenz& Hardin, 2001). Preparing doctoral graduates to become nursescientists has become a source of concern for mature nursescientists who are attempting to mentor doctoral graduates.

Chinn (2001) recognized a deficiency in theory and sciencein many master’s programs of nursing. She sounded an alarmthat faculty in many master’s programs are discontinuingrequired courses in advanced nursing theory, research, andscholarship. Nursing students are graduating from master’sprograms with poor preparation and inadequate knowledge inseveral areas, including nursing grand theories, theoreticalconcepts, research, and current expert knowledge in the student’srelated clinical focus or interest area.

This deficit becomes evident to nursing faculty when some ofthese students enroll in doctoral courses that characteristicallyare laden with theory, philosophy, science, and research. Adeficiency at the master’s level may account for some of theexisting difficulties in teaching philosophy of science content,and nurturing doctoral graduates to the mature role of nursescientists. Although challenges exist, strategies can be taken byprofessors to overcome or offset barriers that might occur.

Conceptual Underpinnings

Dewey’s writings about habits of intelligence, deliberation, andcritical reflection and Freire’s writings about active knowers provideconceptual foundations for the teaching and learning environmentfor the doctoral students. In several of his works, Dewey (1910/1940; 1922/1930; 1935/1963) discussed human habits and hedifferentiated routine habits from creative productive habits. Hecalled routine habits unthinking habits, which exist because of theplasticity of human nature. The rote nature of routine habits, whichHester (2001) called habituations, does not yield any value or benefitfor creative endeavor. As Hester stated, routine habits are “thedangerous side of habits since they lose the ability to be exercisedintelligently” (p. 9). Creativity, imagination, and risk-takingdeliberation are never experienced in these automatic andnonthinking actions, behaviors, and attitudes.

Dewey (1922/1930) contrasted his definition of unthinkinghabits to a definition of productive, flexible habits, in whichintelligence is unleashed. Hester (2001) added that productivehabits expand intellectual horizons because they serve both

Teaching philosophy of science


the means and ends for adjustments to the old habits for theuniqueness of each new situation. In his later works, Dewey(1935/1963) said that people are always possessed by habitsbut that when they are productive with these expanded habits,they remake the old through a union with the new, which isexactly how he has defined intelligence.

Habits in the fullest productive sense are reflected upon;unthinking habits are not reflected upon. Hester (2001) definedintelligence as “a complex of habits that work together toproduce reflective thought and action” (p. 10). Habits thatproduce critical reflection must be cultivated. Hesterexpounded on what he thought these habits should be—deliberation, experimentation, suspension of judgment, andcourage to act with an acceptance of fallibility. Developingand cultivating these habits requires that people take risksand “go out on a limb” with judgments, decisions, andcritically-analyzed opinions. As Dewey said, “The primaryprerequisite of critical ability [and activity] is courage.... Theeasy course is always to accept what is handed out” (1930/1962; as cited in Hester, 2001, p. 10).

An environment should be created for doctoral students tocultivate intelligence and develop critical reflection habits.Freire (1998) referred to students as active knowers, not merelyminds as repositories of information. He further differentiatedcritical consciousness from critical thinking and said that theformer should be the goal of effective educators. “Criticalreflection on practice is a requirement of the relationshipbetween theory and practice” (p 30). Freire (1998) referred tothis level of consciousness as epistemological curiosity.Effective teachers should not be motivated to transferknowledge from expert to novice, rather to create possibilitiesfor the production or construction of knowledge. Freire (1998)emphasized, “There is, in fact, no teaching without learning”and teachers must engage in the learning process as dostudents (p.32).

As Hester (2001) pointed out, deliberation is needed forcultivating intelligent habits through the use of a creativeimagination, specifically in the form of dramaticreconstructions of a situation, which requires a high level ofcourage from participants. Students and teachers bringknowledge and wisdom to the classroom through thisdeliberation; that is, through dramatic reconstructions ofsituations. Thus, students bring personal and professionalexperiences to doctoral programs and faculty bring specializedknowledge of academic preparation, as well as personal andprofessional experiences in shared learning events.

We encourage students to discuss the reality of their livesin the context of where they have been and where they wantto be. By establishing an intimate connection between basicknowledge and a fruitful, expanded knowledge that is derivedfrom their experiences and the cultivation of intelligent habits,students begin to value their own opinions. Teachers, whenviewed as “unfinished,” provide students with theencouragement to be lifelong learners rather than becomingomniscient.

Dewey’s (1935/1963) writings about intelligence are similarto Friere’s concept of “unfinishedness.” Dewey said that

though intelligent humans always take habits and customswith them as part of their being, they are influenced by theinertia and momentum of the new situation in that they arealways in a state of evolving—making something new fromcombining the old with the new. According to Freire (1998),teachers cannot teach without exposing who they are. Facultyshould openly engage in the same exercises that studentscomplete, including journaling, to develop a mutual questfor knowledge and exploration.

Content and Strategies

DiBartolo (1998) said, “A thorough understanding of thediscipline’s philosophical commitments and salient issues thatunderpin this ongoing debate is critical to the developmentof future nurse scholars” (p. 354). Philosophy of science isendorsed as critical course content for doctoral education bythe American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN;1993, 2001). Silva and Rothbart (1984) said that including aphilosophy of science course in doctoral education is importantin helping students learn to read critically, to questionassumptions, to argue, to synthesize, and to become articulatein expressing their views. Thus, the content of the philosophyof science course in nursing promotes open dialogue amongfuture scholars toward advancing nursing as a science.

We offer our course on philosophy of science as a caseexample of strategies for teaching this content to nursingdoctoral students. Included is the history of philosophy andphilosophy of science, from the earliest recorded era ofphilosophy to the scientific revolution through the postmodernera. Greek philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato, to the18th century scientific revolution are included in the coursecontent. During the discussion of the scientific revolutionstudents begin to understand the concept of the term“enlightenment,” as they wrangle with a mélange of topicsthat were in vogue in that era—truth, facts, empiricism,religious skepticism, political reformation, secularism,humanism, cosmopolitanism, and freedom in many forms.In 1784, Immanuel Kant defined that era as man’s emergencefrom his self-imposed tutelage, or his “Dare to know” motto(as cited in Gay, 1996).

From discussions of the enlightenment, students progressthrough the 19th century with discussions that highlightCharles Darwin on evolutionary science, Friedrich Nietzsche,Auguste Comte on classical positivism, and Karl Marx onMarxian communism. Twentieth Century philosophers andtopics include: John Dewey on pragmatism; LudwigWittgenstein, Rudolf Carnap, and Moritz Schlick on logicalpositivism; Carl Hempel and Sir Karl Popper on positivism;Paul Feyerabend and Thomas Kuhn on postpositivism;Edmund Husserl on phenomenology; Martin Heidegger andJean-Paul Sartre on existentialism; and Richard Rorty andJean Watson on postmodernism. Other topics include ageneral discussion and overview of ethics, feminism, natureversus nurture, culture, science, gender, and race.


90 First Quarter 2003 Journal of Nursing Scholarship

Creative Teaching and Learning Strategies

To promote intellectual curiosity and critical reflection, weassign a variety of readings from education, philosophy, fiction,and social science, as well as reflections from art and music.Freire (1998) advocated that learners develop critical reflectionon the social, economic, and cultural conditions within whicheducation occurs. He said, “Learning begins with taking theself as the first—but not the last—object of knowledge” (p.13). In our course, students identify their own personalphilosophy before they begin formal readings in thephilosophy of science. By having students bring photos andother objects that represent the people, pets, and things theyvalue, philosophy and values are placed on a personal ratherthan an abstract scale.

We begin this course with an assumption that most studentswill have had little or no formal course work in philosophy.Much time is spent talking with students about the need forphilosophy of science and how it will provide them with thefoundation for the remainder of their doctoral course work.Because this course is abstract with little evidence of clinicalapplication, we use articles, such as one by Suppe and Jacox(1985), who contented that doctoral students need directexposure to philosophy of science to facilitate the timelytransfer of knowledge in the contemporary, complex, and ever-changing health care environment. By having first-handexperience with the development of ideas and debates aboutphilosophical topics, such as truth, free will, and scientificrealism, doctoral students develop a sense of relativity andhistory of their profession’s place in humanity.

The course is a journey, and the readings reflect the journeyas metaphors and their experiences. An important concept isthat students are engaging in “real time” experiences; that is,they process and record their experiences almostsimultaneously through journaling.

Involving faculty from other disciplines as guest speakershas been valuable for helping students make interdisciplinaryconnections. Forming partnerships with the philosophy andsociology departments has enhanced not only our students’academic experience but also has provided opportunities tocollaborate in interdisciplinary research. Because these futurescientists see collaboration and collegiality, they appreciatethe interconnectedness of science as they strive to solvecomplex problems relevant to nursing and other disciplines(DiBartolo, 1998). Such exposure to different philosophicalviewpoints has an additional bonus of helping students acceptmultiple theories to guide practice and research (DiBartolo,1998).

Students begin the course by reading Sophie’s World byGaardner (1997), a popular novel about the history ofphilosophy. Students find the reading level acceptable andthe overview of philosophy helpful. Students entering doctoralprograms for the first time have anxieties about their decisionsto seek the doctorate in nursing as well as uncertainty abouttheir ability to master the material. Because this course canprovoke even more insecurity, because of the unfamiliarityof the subject, the first month of the semester is focused on a

variety of less complex and more accessible books, such asThe Alchemist by Coelho (1996) and Think by Blackburn(2000). These books are discussed with attention toward helpingstudents with such details as pronunciation of unfamiliar namesand appreciating their own experiences through theirdiscussions and journaling.

An emphasis is placed on Florence Nightingale and herstudy of the Greek philosopher Plato. By examining Plato’sinfluence on Nightingale, doctoral students gain an immediatelink to nursing’s heritage (LeVasseur, 1998). By presentingthe philosophy of science in historical contexts, from the Greeksthrough the positivist traditions and to the perceived views incontemporary philosophy, students focus on the contexts ofphilosophical thought and nursing’s evolution as a profession.

We have found that integrating art, music, and literaturemakes teaching philosophy of science more successful; difficultconcepts can be connected and understood more clearly bystudents. By integrating some forms of popular culture,students are able to make connections with what they thinkthey know in the external world to what they need to knowand understand about the complex and abstract subject ofphilosophy of science and nursing science.

Through these experiences, students understandhermeneutics and phenomenology more easily as they learnto question their taken-for-granted assumptions and beliefsabout art, music, and literature. In turn, by using varioussources and exercising risk-taking deliberations, students beginto appreciate the complexity of values and modes ofexpression. Students bring selections from art, music, andliterature weekly to illustrate relevant course content.

Students stay linked to the world around them through theuse of news media, popular books, movies, current events,music, and art. Students read from a variety of sources, suchas Shelley’s Frankenstein, as they explore anti-science as areaction to new scientific knowledge. Listening to music isan effective instructional method for students to make a linkbetween philosophical connections to the real world. Choosingsongs that reflect philosophical questions and concepts canbe a reflective tool for written exercises and for promotingclass discussion. For example, American country music oftenposes philosophical questions about life’s complexities. Platolooked for the source of true knowledge beyond the world ofappearance in his theory of ideas—what flows and changesis the world of the senses. This abstract concept sometimes isillustrated with popular American songs such as “The River”by Garth Brooks and “Stones in the Road” by Mary ChapinCarpenter. Although the lyrics and music are developed inmuch simpler terms than is the language of philosophy,country music singers ask epistemological questions in theirsongs such as “how can we know about the phenomena ofthe world?”

The dilemma of free will versus determinism is common inmany forms of media, and this dilemma is a topic discussedin the philosophy of science content. Are humans free to acton their own accord or is our destiny already decided?Country music songs, such as Carpenter’s “I Feel Lucky” and“I Take My Chances,” reflect the free will versus determinism



conflict. Short clips from widely-known popular movies, such as“Forrest Gump,” “The Little Prince,” and “Life is Beautiful,” areused in the classroom to illustrate the complexity of free will anddeterminism.

Music and art from the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, the Beatles,and Andy Warhol, help to illustrate the idea of revolutionary societaland cultural paradigmatic shifts in society as a way to betterunderstand Kuhn’s writings about revolutionary scientificparadigmatic shifts in society. Examples might vary in differentcountries and social contexts. Recent student evaluations haveincluded the recommendation that the course content be expandedto include Eastern philosophy, not just Western philosophy.

Conclusions

Teaching philosophy of science poses a challenge in manycountries, including the United States. Logic, reasoning,epistemology, scientific validation, and knowledge formation areconcepts that often seem vague and complex for new doctoralstudents. One of the difficulties faculty and doctoral students face ismethod of content delivery; that is, making the conventionalpositivistic hard facts and reasoning seem interesting andstimulating. Another challenge for students and faculty is the students’previous lack of exposure to scholarly and scientific concepts andtheir concerns about competency in nursing doctoral programs.

By cultivating intelligent habits and critical reflection, studentsare able to challenge their own definitions of nursing and scientificinquiry, as well as their own worldviews of phenomena. Preparationin the historical views of science, as well as the contemporary debatesamong scholars, helps nursing students learn to articulate and defendtheir own ideas while refining their critical thinking skills. Suchinsightful processes are necessary for inquiry into the phenomenaof nursing and health.

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Teaching Philosophy of Science in Nursing Doctoral Education