Reductionism in the pursuit of nursing science: (in)congruent with nursing's core values?

ABSTRACT

Within nursing scholarship a critique has developed around the philosophy and approaches of traditional science. The central theme of this critique is that the approaches of traditional science are antithetical to nursing's commitment to a humanistic philosophy, as reflected in the premise that reductionism is incongruent with nursing's core values. Several nurse scholars, believing that nursing's humanistic philosophy should guide the research efforts of the discipline, have advocated abandonment of the reductionistic approaches of traditional science. The authors contend that adoption of such a position will have serious consequences for knowledge development in nursing and subsequently will be detrimental to the advancement of nursing practice and the discipline of nursing. They refute the premise that reductionism is incongruent with nursing's core values, argue for reductionism in nursing science, and conclude that without the pursuit of epistemological holism, the actualization of nursing's core values is in jeopardy.