What is philosophy?

The educational philosopher Maxine Greene (1973) challenged educators to “do philosophy.” By this she meant that we need to take the risk of thinking about what we do when we teach and what we mean when we talk of enabling others to learn. It also means we need to become progressively more conscious of the choices and commitments we make in our professional lives. Greene also challenged educators to look at our presuppositions, to examine critically the principles underlying what we think and what we say as educators, and to confront the individuals within us. She acknowledged that we often have to ask and answer painful questions when we “do philosophy.”

In his seminal book, The Courage to Teach, Parker Palmer (2007) asserted that “though the academy claims to value multiple modes of knowing, it honors only one—an ‘objective’ way of knowing that takes us into the ‘real’ world by taking us ‘out of ourselves’” (p. 18). He encouraged educators to challenge this culture by bringing a more human, personal perspective to the teaching–learning experience. Like Greene, Palmer suggested that, in order to do this, educators must look inside so that we can understand that “we teach who we are” (p. xi) and so that we can appreciate that such insight is critical for “authentic teaching, learning, and living” (p. ix).

Philosophy, then, is a way of framing questions that have to do with what is presupposed, perceived, intuited, believed, and known. It is a way of contemplating, examining, or thinking about what is taken to be significant, valuable, or worthy of commitment. As well, it is a way of becoming self-aware and thinking of the everyday as “problematic” so that questions are posed about what we do and how we do it, usual practices are challenged and not merely accepted as “the way things are,” and positive change can occur. Indeed, Sartre asserted that each of us needs to develop—as a fundamental practice of being—going beyond the reality we confront, refusing to accept it as a given and, instead, viewing life as a reality to be created.

These perspectives on “doing philosophy” focus primarily on individuals—as human beings in general or as teachers in particular—reflecting seriously on their beliefs and values. There is no question that such reflection is critical and is to be valued and encouraged. However, “doing philosophy” must also be a group activity when one is involved in curriculum work. In crafting a statement of philosophy for a school of nursing, the beliefs and values of all faculty must be considered, addressed, and incorporated as much as possible. In fact, the very process of talking about one’s beliefs and values—while it may generate heated debates—leads to a deeper understanding of what a group truly accepts as guiding principles for all it does.

Philosophical statements

A philosophy is essentially a narrative statement of values or beliefs. It reflects broad principles or fundamental “isms” that guide actions and decision making, and it expresses the assumptions we make about people, situations, or goals. As noted by Bevis (1989, p. 35), the philosophy “provides the value system for ordering priorities and selecting from among various data.”

In writing a philosophical statement, we must raise questions, contemplate ideas, examine what it is we truly believe, become self-aware, and probe what might be . . . and what should be. It calls on us to think critically and deeply, forge ideas and ideals, and become highly conscious of the phenomena and events in the world.

We also must reflect on the mission, vision, and values of our parent institution and of our school itself, as well as on the values of our profession. Figure 7-1 illustrates how a school’s statement of philosophy is related to but different than these other sources. A mission statement describes unique purposes for which an institution or nursing unit exists: to improve the health of the surrounding community, to advance scientific understanding or contribute to the development of nursing science, to prepare responsible citizens, or to graduate individuals who will influence public policy to ensure access to quality health care for all. A vision is an expression of what an institution or nursing unit wants to be: the institution of choice for highly qualified students wishing to make a positive difference in our world; the leader in innovative integration of technology in the preparation of nurses; or a center of synergy for teaching, research, professional practice, and public service. Institutions and schools of nursing often also articulate a set of values that guide their operation: honesty and transparency, serving the public good, excellence, innovation, or constantly being open to change and transformation.

As stated, a philosophy statement is the narrative that reflects and integrates concepts expressed in the mission, vision, and values of the institution or profession; it serves to guide the actions and decisions of those involved in the organization. Educational philosophy is a matter of “doing philosophy” with respect to the educational enterprise as it engages the educator. It involves becoming critically conscious of what is involved in the complex teaching–learning relationship and what education truly means. The following statements about education, many by well-known individuals, provide examples of different philosophical perspectives:

Philosophy as it relates to nursing education

As noted earlier, “doing philosophy” must move from individual work to group work when engaged in curriculum development, implementation, and evaluation. Faculty need to reflect on their own individual beliefs and values, share them with colleagues, affirm points of agreement, and discuss points of disagreement. Table 7-1 summarizes many of the philosophical perspectives expressed through the years, and faculty are encouraged to explore the meaning and implications of each as they engage in developing, reviewing, or refining the philosophical statement that guides their work. A discussion of three basic educational ideologies is presented here to point out how differences might arise if each person on a faculty were to approach education from her or his own belief system only.

One basic educational ideology is that of romanticism (Jarvis, 1995). This perspective, which emerged in the 1960s, is highly learner-centered and asserts that what comes from within the learner is most important. Within this ideological perspective, one would construct an educational environment that is permissive and freeing; promotes creativity and discovery; allows each student’s inner abilities to unfold and grow; and stresses the unique, the novel, and the personal. Bradshaw (1998, p. 104) asserted that “this ‘romantic’ educational philosophy underpins current nurse education”; however, those who acknowledge our current “content-laden curricula” in nursing (Diekelmann, 2002; Diekelmann & Smythe, 2004; Giddens & Brady, 2007; Tanner, 2010) would disagree and posit that while a “romantic” philosophy is embraced as an ideal, it is not always evident in our day-to-day practices.

A second educational ideology, that of cultural transmission (Bernstein, 1975), is more society- or culture-centered. Here the emphasis is on transmitting bodies of information, rules, values, and the culturally given (i.e., the beliefs and practices that are central to our educational environments and our society in general). One would expect an educational environment that is framed within a cultural transmission perspective to be structured, rigid, and controlled, with an emphasis on the common and the already-established.

The third major educational ideology has been called progressivism (Dewey, 1944; Kohlberg & Mayer, 1972), where the focus is oriented toward the future and the goal of education is to nourish the learner’s natural interaction with the world. Here the educational environment would be designed to present resolvable but genuine problems or conflicts that “force” learners to think so that they can be effective later in life. The total development of learners—not merely their cognitive or intellectual abilities—is emphasized and enhanced.

Increasingly, education experts agree that development must be an overarching paradigm of education, that students must be central to the educational enterprise, and that education must be designed to empower learners and help them fulfill their potentials. Beliefs and values such as these surely would influence expectations faculty express regarding students’ and their own performance, the relationships between students and teachers, how the curriculum is designed and implemented (see Figure 7-1), and the kind of “evidence” that is gathered to determine whether the curriculum has been successful and effective.

There is no doubt that a statement of philosophy for a school of nursing must address beliefs and values about education, teaching, and learning. However, it also must address other concepts that are critical to the practice of nursing, namely human beings, society and the environment, health, and the roles of nurses themselves. These major concepts have been referred to as the metaparadigm of nursing, a concept first introduced by Fawcett in 1984.

Central concepts in a school of nursing’s philosophy

In preparing or revising the school of nursing’s statement of philosophy, faculty must articulate their beliefs and values about human beings, including the individual patients for whom nurses care, their families, and the communities in which they live and work; students; and one another. It is inconsistent to express a belief that patients and families want to be involved in making decisions that affect them and then never give students an opportunity to make decisions that will affect them. Likewise, it is admirable to talk about respecting others, treating others with dignity, and valuing differences among people, but when faculty then treat one another in disrespectful ways or insist that everyone teach in the same way and do exactly the same thing, the validity of those expressed values must be questioned. Consider the following statements about human beings that might be expressed in your school’s philosophy, keeping in mind that “human beings” refers to students, faculty, and administrators, as well as patients:

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