From acorn to oak tree: a neoplatonic perspective of reflection and caring.

This paper provides a meta-analysis of reflection and caring. Placed within a philosophical framework, the nurse's call to care is explored. Drawing upon Rosemarie Parse's theory of human becoming (1981) and Plato's myth of Er (Hillman, 1996), the author discusses the idea of caring as an 'innate image'. This image is expanded throughout the paper as the author uses the analogy of the acorn as containing the becoming oak tree.