Are Egalitarian Relationships a Desirable Ideal in Nursing?

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Abstract
Recent discourse in nursing’s various theoretical enterprises has been dominated by a passionate concern for the moral principle of equality. Although philosophical claims about equality shape current thinking in nursing education, research, and practice theory, this author contends that the dialogue has eclipsed an egalitarian view of justice and created the conditions under which only narrow, individualistic, and prima facie interpretations of equality can be sustained. Current interpretations of equality are linked to systematic patterns in theoretical reasoning and its application to various nursing contexts. Many nurse theorists have uncritically adopted equality as an incontestable and overarching truth, such that its limitations are overlooked and competing positions not afforded serious consideration; extreme and dichotomous positions proliferate within nursing scholarship. Deconstruction of the dominant discourse around equality raises questions about the way justice and truth are understood within nursing’s theoretical, educational, and research scholarship. Recent discourse in nursing’s various theoretical enterprises has been dominated by a passionate concern for the moral principle of equality. Although philosophical claims about equality shape current thinking in nursing education, research, and practice theory, this author contends that the dialogue has eclipsed an egalitarian view of justice and created the conditions under which only narrow, individualistic, and prima facie interpretations of equality can be sustained. Current interpretations of equality are linked to systematic patterns in theoretical reasoning and its application to various nursing contexts. Many nurse theorists have uncritically adopted equality as an incontestable and overarching truth, such that its limitations are overlooked and competing positions not afforded serious consideration; extreme and dichotomous positions proliferate within nursing scholarship. Deconstruction of the dominant discourse around equality raises questions about the way justice and truth are understood within nursing’s theoretical, educational, and research scholarship.

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