NURSNG 701L Science as a Way of Knowing

This course investigates “science” in its multiple forms as a set of clues to the nature of knowledge. Specifically, this course advances the relationship of philosophy of science and theory to nursing science. The course explores forces and issues in the philosophy of science and theoretical thinking which guide science and knowledge development in nursing methodologies and practice. Theory-research-practice linkages in nursing knowledge development are highlighted. Specific philosophy of science content includes the complex symbolic structures of “scientific” concepts; conceptual frameworks and explanations; the variety of methods used in scientific inquiry; the nature of scientific discovery and creativity; the role of metaphysical and aesthetic factors in the construction and validation of theories; the social matrices and determinants of scientific research; and science’s dependence on both value judgments and technology.

3 Credit(s)