Hermeneutics: Philosophical Traditions and Nursing Practice Research

Abstract

This analysis begins with the premise that nursing practice research has often ignored or suppressed the fact that nurses participate in and benefit from the same American illness care nonsystem that leaves 40 million citizens without health care. This collective denial has its historical roots in philosophic foundationalism, health care authoritarianism, and nursing's disciplinary isolation. Philosophical hermeneutics offers perspectives that emphasize the inescapability of nursing's history. This article traces some of the main themes in philosophical hermeneutics and their potential significance for nursing practice research. The relationship between hermeneutic philosophy and research methods employed in interpretive traditions (for example, grounded theory) and the role of experimental design in addressing hermeneutic questions are discussed.