The role of Philosophical Hermeneutics in contributing to an understanding of physiotherapy practice: a reflexive illustration

Rob Stenner; Theresa Mitchell; Shea Palmer

doi:10.1016/j.physio.2016.05.003

The role of Philosophical Hermeneutics in contributing to an understanding of physiotherapy practice: a reflexive illustration

Rob Stenner, Theresa Mitchell, Shea Palmer

Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

110 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of Philosophical Hermeneutics based on the work of German philosopher Hans Georg Gadamer. The concepts of the ‘hermeneutic circle’ as a vehicle for interpretation, management of the researcher's pre-understandings (prejudices), and the ‘fusion of horizons’ are introduced and illustrated by examples from the first author's research, before considering how rigour can be achieved in this type of research. The actual research study which aimed to explore how shared decision making and patient partnership are addressed by physiotherapists in the process of exercise prescription for patients with low back pain (LBP) is not the focus of this paper. However short descriptions of the study are used to explore issues surrounding a hermeneutic inquiry. For physiotherapists interested in research or considering undertaking an interpretive phenomenological inquiry, this theoretical discussion paper explores how Gadamer's philosophy offers a credible framework for undertaking such research.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	330-334
Number of pages	5
Journal	Physiotherapy (United Kingdom)
Volume	103
Issue number	3
Early online date	1 Jun 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physio.2016.05.003
Publication status	Published - Sept 2017
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Physiotherapy. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Physiotherapy, 103:3 (2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.physio.2016.05.003

© 2017, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Keywords

Interpretive phenomenology
Philosophical Hermeneutics
Physiotherapy
Research

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation

Access to Document

10.1016/j.physio.2016.05.003

Post-PrintAccepted author manuscript, 217 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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The role of Philosophical Hermeneutics in contributing to an understanding of physiotherapy practice: a reflexive illustration

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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