Greenwood Jennifer, Bonner Ann
School of Nursing, Midwifery & Nutrition, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
Nurs Philos. 2008 Jul;9(3):154-68. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2008.00340.x.
The current view of theoretical statements in science is that they should be literal and precise; ambiguous and metaphorical statements are useful only as pre-theoretical, exegetical, and heuristic devices and as pedagogical tools. In this paper we argue that this view is mistaken. Literal, precise statements apply to those experiential phenomena which can be defined either conventionally by criterial attribution or by internal atomic constitution. Experiential phenomena which are defined relationally and/or functionally, like nursing, in virtue of their nature, require metaphorical description and explanation. In such cases, metaphor is theory-constitutive. Using insights from the philosophies of language and mind, and examples from nursing practice, education, and our own empirical research, we explore the nature of metaphor and its role in theory constitution. We argue that the apparent resistance of certain experiential phenomena to literal description and explanation is not necessarily indicative of pre-theoretic linguistic imprecision. We suggest, rather, that such resistance provides useful insights into the nature of such experiential phenomena. We also suggest that the aim of scientific theory should be methodological or epistemological precision and not merely linguistic precision.
当前科学界对于理论陈述的观点认为，它们应该是字面意义明确且精确的；模糊和隐喻性的陈述仅在作为理论前、解释性、启发式工具以及教学工具时才有用。在本文中，我们认为这种观点是错误的。字面意义明确且精确的陈述适用于那些可以通过标准归属或内部原子构成以常规方式定义的经验现象。而像护理这样凭借其性质通过关系和/或功能来定义的经验现象，需要隐喻性的描述和解释。在这种情况下，隐喻构成了理论。我们运用语言哲学和心灵哲学的见解，以及护理实践、教育和我们自己实证研究中的例子，来探讨隐喻的本质及其在理论构成中的作用。我们认为，某些经验现象对字面描述和解释的明显抗拒并不一定表明理论前语言的不精确。相反，我们认为这种抗拒为洞察此类经验现象的本质提供了有益的视角。我们还认为，科学理论的目标应该是方法或认识论上的精确性，而不仅仅是语言上的精确性。
