Running Head: DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

Activity 1: Definition of Terms and Critique

Ancheta, Melquiades C.
St. Louis University

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

A. Definition of Terms
1. Epistemology
- comes from the Greek word epistm, their term for knowledge; the philosophy of
knowledge or of how we come to know the world (Trochim, 2006).
- is a coherent foundation whose examination reveals both the possibilities and the
limitations imposed on the types of knowledge that it can support (Spender, 1998).
2. Methodology
- concerned with how we come to know; focused on the specific ways -the methods- that
we can use to try to understand our world better (Trochim, 2006).
3. Positivism
- is a way of thinking developed by Auguste Comte and is based on the assumption that it
is possible to observe social life and establish reliable, valid knowledge about how it
works. This knowledge can then be used to affect the course of social change and
improve the human condition; concern itself only with what can be observed with the
senses and that theories of social life should be built in a rigid, linear, and methodical
way on a base of verifiable fact (Crossman, n.d.).
4. Logical positivism
- is a theory in Epistemology and Logic that developed out of Positivism and the early
Analytic Philosophy movement, and which campaigned for a systematic reduction of all
human knowledge to logical and scientific foundations. Thus, a statement is meaningful

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

only if it is either purely formal (essentially, mathematics and logic) or capable of
empirical verification (Mastin, 2008).
- justification of scientific knowledge (Fumerton, 2015).
5. Post-positivism
- recognizes that all observation is fallible and has error and that ll theory is revisable;
post-positivist believes that the goal of science is to hold steadily to the goal of
getting it

right about reality (Rodriguez, 2013).

6. Modernism
- refers to Neo-Classical, Enlightenment assumptions concerning the role reason, or
rationality, or scientific reasoning, play in guiding our understanding of the
human

condition and, in extreme cases of Postmodern theory, nature itself (Drake, n.d.).

7. Post-modernism
- is a reaction against the philosophical assumptions and values of the modern period of
Western history; natural reality is a conceptual construct, an artifact of scientific
practice

and language (Duignan, 2014).

8. Empiricism
- the view that all concepts originate in experience, that all concepts are about or
applicable to things that can be experienced, or that all rationally acceptable beliefs or
propositions are justifiable or knowable only through experience. This broad definition
accords with the derivation of the term empiricism from the ancient Greek word

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

empeiria,

experience; it sometimes conveys an unfavourable implication of ignorance of

or

indifference to relevant theory; described as hard-headed refusal to be swayed by

anything, a blunt resistance to received opinion or precarious chains of abstract

reasoning

(Quinton & Quinton, 2015).

- is a philosophical belief that states your knowledge of the world is based on your
experiences, particularly your sensory experiences; learning is based on our observations
and perception; knowledge is not possible without experience (Thomas, 2013).
9. Rationalism
- the ultimate source of human knowledge is the faculty of reason but the nature of
reason is a difficult problem that generally assumed to be a unique feature or faculty of
the mind through which truths about reality may be grasped; thus, rationalism is the
theory of isomorphism (a mirroring relationship) between reason and reality that makes it
possible for the former to apprehend the latter just as it is (Martinich, 2014).
- In ethics, rationalism holds the position that reason is the ultimate court of appeal in
judging good and bad, right and wrong. According to Kant as stated by Blanshard
(2014),

the way to judge an act is to check its self-consistency as apprrehended by the

intellect.
10. Ontology
- a branch of philosophy that concerns the science of what is, of the kinds and structures
of objects, properties, events, processes and relations in every area of reality; it was
coined in 1613 by two philosophers (Gockel & Lorhard) and its first occurrence in

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

English as recorded by the OED appears in Baileys dictionary of 1721, which defines
as an account of being in the abstract (Smith, 2003).
11. Axiology
- also called Theory Of Value, the philosophical study of goodness, or value, in the
widest sense of these terms. Its significance lies (1) in the considerable expansion that it
has given to the meaning of the term value and (2) in the unification that it has
provided

for the study of a variety of questionseconomic, moral, aesthetic, and

even logical

that had often been considered in relative isolation (The Editors of

Encyclopedia

Britannica, 2014).

- the study of value; the investigation of its nature, criteria, and metaphysical status. More
often than not, the term "value theory" is used instead of "axiology" in contemporary
discussions even though the term theory of value is used with respect to the value or
price of goods and services in economics (Pratt, 2015).
12. Hermeneutics
- means the theory of interpretation achieving an understanding of texts, utterance and so
on (Forster, n.d.).
- the hermeneutic approach was conceived as definitive of the humane sciences (history,
sociology, anthropology) as distinct from the natural ones. Whereas nature,
according to

this view, can be thoroughly explained in completely objective terms,

human activity,

and human beings generally, can be understood only in terms of

inherently subjective

beliefs, desires, and reasons. This in turn requires understanding

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

the meanings of the

sentences human beings speak and understanding the practical and

theoretical concepts

and norms they employ. Such historical understanding, if it is

possible, must be the product of self-conscious interpretation from one worldview into another
(Blackburn,

n.d.).

13. Heuristics
- is a mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems and make judgments quickly
and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and
allow

people to function without constantly stopping to think about their next course of

action (Cherry, 2015).

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

B. Grounded Theory: A Methodological Spiral from Positivism to Postmodernism

Derivation of knowledge must be elicited from an explicit nature. Presenting what is authentic
and true to the human soul based from what was experienced will ultimately crystallize the knowledge
that is being created and amplified. The exploration of the Australian rural nurses experiences in
mentoring based from the postpositivist paradigm of grounded theory, metaphorically shifted the
methodology into symbolic interactionism adopting the frame analysis due to unwillingness to dismiss the
notion of constructivists beliefs (Mills, et al, 2006). The article provided us transparency to the
methodological undertakings to decode the correct interpretation of human experiences.
Initially, the researchers grounded their inquiry to Glaser and Strauss traditional grounded theory
(1967) with the faith of creating a theory out of the data that was collected. The inevitable participation
of the researchers to the creation of knowledge providing meaningful themes to it is an essential function
of the latter. This is true to what Corbin & Strauss cited by Mills, et al (2006) said that the researcher is
an author who reconstructs meaning in the research process. Similarly, Lincoln and Guba (2005) asserted
that a researcher is a passionate participant as facilitator of multi-voice reconstruction. The
constructivistic approach of the researcher to the study clearly defines the purpose and the relationship
created upon the conduct of knowledge inquiry. However, with the attempt to utilize the situational
analysis following the maps, ushered itself to the Foucauldian discourse analysis. It is at this point that
Clarkes grounded theory move out from constructivism to postmodernism perspective questioning how
discourses are produced and how we are constituted through them.
With the futile result of positional maps by laying out the positions taken and not taken, in the
data vis-a-vis particular axes of difference, concern and controversy around issues in the situation of
inquiry (Clarke as cited by Mills, et al 2006), the researchers utilizes other means of analyzing the data
focusing on how the texts. The framing analysis, which according to Goffman as cited by Mills, et al
(2006), identifies the structure of experience individuals have at any moment of their social lives aligning

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

itself to the social values and beliefs in order to promote action and change. Through this, the researchers
were able to box and connect the responses of multiple actors involved in the study propagating ample
detailed interpretation of the mentoring experiences.
To give color in portraying the multistoried world (Munhall, 2012), it is imperative to use an
appropriate brush and skillful strokes. Looking to the appropriateness and soundness of the methodology
used or that will be used in a particular study will definitely contribute to the acceptance of the truth being
presented. Wherein, the study questions were sufficiently answered due to the method used (Kaplan
University, n.d.). Further, visualizing the possible influences that will affect the perception of the
participants upon recall of the phenomenon being studied, must also be examined and identified for it will
tell to the reader the complete structure of the theory being created. For the accuracy of data lies on the
information gathered, analyzed and presented. The researchers were able to discern what appropriate
methodology to be used in the interpretation of valuable facts about the experiences of rural nurses.
Setting aside what philosophical belief they have, they were able to value the knowledge they are creating
and their contribution to others enrichment.

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

References
Blanshard, B. (2014). Rationalism. Retrieved on March 25, 2015 from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/492034/rationalism
Cherry, K. (2015). What is a heuristic?. Retrieved on March 27, 2015 from
http://psychology.about.com/od/hindex/g/heuristic.html
Drake, T. (n.d.). Modernism vs. Postmodernism. Retrieved on March 28, 2015 from
http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/engl_258/Lecture%20Notes/modernism_vs_postmodernism.ht
ml
Quinton, A. & Quinton, B. (2015). Empiricism philosophy. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Martinich, A.P. (2014). Epistemology philosophy. Retrieved on March 29, 2015 from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190219/epistemology/247961/Innate-and-acquiredknowledge#toc247962
Philosophy of Language.(2015). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/754957/philosophy-of-language/257836/Thehermeneutic-tradition
Pratt, (2015). Sculpture of philosophy. Retrieved on March 26, 2015 from
http://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/what.shtml

Spender, J.C. (1998). Pluralist epistemology and the knowledge-based theory of the firm. New York
Institute of Technology Volume 5(2), 233-256.

Tronchim, W. (2006). The research methods knowledge base. Web Center for Social Research Methods.

Smith, B. (2003). Ontology. Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Computing and Information, Oxford:
Blackwell, 155-166.

Rodriguez, M.A. (2013). Qualitative research in corporate communication. Theories, Frameworks and
Research Design.

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CRITIQUE

Thomas, S. (2013). Empricism: Definition, Meaning & Philosophy. Retrieved on March 30, 2015 from
http://study.com/academy/lesson/empiricism-definition-meaning-philosophy.html

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