2007 SOPHE Presidential Address: Discovering a Philosophy of Health Education

Abstract

While we have several hallmarks of a mature profession, does this include a well-articulated Philosophy of Health Education? High-order questions should be important to both practitioners and researchers in health education. This address outlines why it is important for us to have a philosophy of health education, an approach that we could take in such a project, and brief illustrations of how one's philosophy of health education impacts our work. Studying philosophy is a discipline unto itself. The suggestion is made for us to take a systematic look at fundamental questions about who we are, what areas of the human condition we choose to affect, why (and in what way) we do the things we do, and what difference we are making. If using a traditional philosophical framework of inquiry, three major and important areas of questioning would be examined, falling in the areas of epistemology, ethical and moral discourse, and governance and justice. Discovering a philosophy of health education understandably could be far a field from one's research agenda. However, if the profound statement that, of all the functions that a public health department provides, health education quite possibly could be the most essential service in a democratic society is true, then it is important for us, on balance, to get it right, thus giving a strong rationale for us to discover our own brand, as opposed to a borrowed, philosophy of health education.