Toward a Philosophy of Clinical Inquiry/Research

Abstract

The hypothesis underpinning this philosophical reflection on Schein's notion of clinical inquiry/research is that clinical inquiry/research has solid foundations in the operations of human cognition and in the nature of the realm of practical knowing. The reflection draws on the work of the philosopher Bernard Lonergan, who articulates both a clear account of the operations of human knowing and of the realm of practical knowing where knowledge is contextually embedded, and there is a primary concern for the practical and the particular. The purpose of engaging in this philosophical reflection is to articulate the epistemic grounds on which clinical inquiry/research is based to aid clinical researchers to understand and appropriate its vibrant philosophy. The aim is to provide scholar-practitioners with an epistemology, a methodology, and an array of methods to conduct clinical inquiry/research.