Case Discussion: Epistemology

Case Discussion: Epistemology essay assignment

Two competing philosophical perspectives used in science are rationalism and empiricism. Each is a type of epistemology that is a theory of knowledge for understanding how to uncover the answer to a question. Gale (1979) labeled these alternative epistemologies as centrally concerned with the power of reason and the power of sensory experience. Gale noted similarity in the divergent views of science in the time of the classical Greeks. For example, Aristotle believed that advances in biological science would develop through systematic observation of objects and events in the natural world, whereas Pythagoras believed that knowledge of the natural world would develop from mathematical reasoning (Brown, 1977; Gale, 1979).

Get solution to your nursing paper : Case Discussion: Epistemology

Nursing science has been characterized by two branching philosophies of knowledge as the discipline developed. Various terms are used to describe these two stances:

(1) empiricist, mechanistic, quantitative, and deductive or

(2) interpretive, holistic, qualitative, and inductive forms of science.

Understanding the nature of these different philosophical stances facilitates an appreciation for what each form contributes to nursing knowledge.

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