title: The axiological ontology of occupational therapy: a philosophical analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This article describes the results of a study analyzing several discourses on the values of occupational therapy and some philosophical assumptions upon which these values are based.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study of several values statements using the hermeneutical method--a conventional analytical approach in philosophy--was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The literature review reveals that opinions on the values of occupational therapy differ greatly--no one value is shared among all the values statements examined. However, the majority of the texts mention occupational participation. A philosophical analysis of the literature shows that this value is based on a conception of human beings that can be traced back to the philosophical anthropologies of thinkers like Marx, Rousseau, Sartre, and Kant. The philosophical analysis also brought to light a certain conceptual confusion about what a value is.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This article therefore offers some conceptual clarifications to help distinguish between values, beliefs, attitudes, principles, and non-evaluative concepts. It also presents the implications for practice of this philosophical analysis of values statements of the profession.
authors: Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières , Trois-Rivières, Québec , Canada.
authors: Marie-Josée
authors: MJ
authors: Drolet
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D064229:Biological Ontologies; D006801:Humans; D009788:Occupational Therapy; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D036301:Qualitative Research; D028722:Virtues