title: Discourse analysis and the impact of the philosophy of Enlightenment in nursing research.
abstract: Discourse analysis has been introduced into nursing research as an approach which has the potential to offer new perspectives and to pose new questions to taken-for-granted assumptions. However, critique has arisen that when applied to nursing studies, the epistemological foundation of the discourse analysis is often overlooked. It is furthermore claimed that the methodological inspiration does not lead to any new insights and that these studies can hardly be differentiated from more traditional studies. This study supports this critique, arguing that the challenges of implementing discourse analysis in nursing research reflect a dominant pattern of thought in the discourse of the nursing profession that have held sway throughout the last century. We argue that this pattern of thought stems from the Western philosophy of consciousness and the conception of the sovereign subject. By applying a discourse analytical perspective to the discourse of the nursing profession itself, this study elucidates the challenges of applying discourse analysis in nursing research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Section for Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beedholm
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lomborg
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Frederiksen
mesh_terms: D019359:Knowledge; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015399:Nursing Research; D010684:Philosophy
keywords: Foucault; discourse; history of ideas; philosophy; poststructuralism