Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice

Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice provides an overview of the most influential philosophical movements from past to present and shows how these philosophies are a foundational, yet underutilized, element of occupational therapy education, research, and practice.

Editor Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA, fills a gap in existing occupational therapy literature by exploring the major thinkers and concepts of numerous different philosophical movements and examining their implications. Taff and a multitude of chapter authors demonstrate that the vital points of human existence are found in philosophy as well as science, and that occupational therapy should incorporate a clearly articulated philosophical perspective into its evidence-based and measurement-driven paradigm. 

Each chapter offers a basic description of a philosophy, outlines major thinkers and concepts and ultimately summarizes the implications for occupational therapy education, research and practice. 

Philosophy and Occupational Therapy: Informing Education, Research, and Practice is a unique and essential book for occupational therapy educators, researchers, and clinicians that will enrich the teaching-learning process, ground research with depth and clarity, and spark discussion among professionals about reviving the use of philosophy in current occupational therapy practice. 
 

Contents

Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Editor
Contributing Authors
Foreword: Philosophy and Professional Reflection, Change, and Growth by Barb Hooper, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Chapter 1    What Is Philosophy?
Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 2    Reframing the Narrative on the Philosophies Influencing the Development of Occupational Therapy
Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA, and  Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L

Chapter 3    Focus on the ­Mental and Spiritual: Idealism and Occupational Therapy
Wanda J. Mahoney, PhD, OTR/L, and  Brad E. Egan, PhD, OTD, CADC, OTR/L

Chapter 4    Realism: Exploring the Divide Between What Exists and What Humans Make of It
Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, and  Bernard A. K. Muriithi, PhD, OTR/L

Chapter 5    A Teleological Perspective of Occupational Engagement: Humanism Informing Occupational Therapy
Moses N. Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, and  Whitney Lucas­Molitor, PhD, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BCG

Chapter 6    Occupation and Meaningful Living: An Existential Perspective
Aaron M. Eakman, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, and  Moses N. Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Chapter 7    Romanticism and Transcendentalism: Ideas That Made Occupational Therapy Possible and Holistic Practice Necessary
Charles H. Christiansen, EdD, OTR, FAOTA

Chapter 8    Slouching Toward Utopia: Hope, Fear, and the Pursuit of the Unattainable
Richard L. Whalley, OTD, OTR/L; Anna J. Neff, OTD, MSCI, OTR/L; and Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 9    Pragmatic Foundations: Instrumentalism and Transactionalism in Occupational Therapy
Moses N. Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, and Ranelle M. Nissen, PhD, OTR/L

Chapter 10    Phenomenology: Returning to the Things Themselves With Wonder and Curiosity
Valerie A. Wright-­St Clair, PhD, MPH, DipProfEthics, DipBusStud, DipOT, and Elizabeth Anne Kinsella, PhD, MAdEd, BSc(OT)

Chapter 11    Tools, Thoughts, and Signs: Sociocultural Perspectives on Mind and Occupation
Arun Selvaratnam, MS, OTR/L, and Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 12    An African Philosophy of Personhood in Southern Occupational Therapy
Thuli Mthembu, BSc OT, MPH, PhD, and Madeleine Duncan, DipOT, BOT, BAHons(Psych), MSc OT, DPhil(Psych)

Chapter 13    Fundamental Impermanence: Process Philosophy and Occupational Potential
Lauren Putnam, BS, and Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 14    Analytic Philosophy: Guiding Method and Adding Precision to Occupational Therapy
Marna Ghiglieri, OTD, MA, OTR/L; Ronald R. Drummond, BA; Rose McAndrew, OTD, OTR/L, CHT; and Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 15    Structuralism: Examining the Interrelationships Around Occupation
Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L, and Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Chapter 16    Critical Theory: Resources for Questioning and Transforming Everyday Life
Lisette Farias, PhD, MScOT, Reg. OT, and Rebecca M. Aldrich, PhD, OTR/L

Chapter 17    Everyday Hermeneutics: Understanding (the Meaning of) Occupational Engagement    
Melissa Park, PhD, MA OT; Aaron Bonsall, PhD, OTR/L; and Don Fogelberg, PhD, OTR/L

Chapter 18    Deconstruction and the Institution of Occupation
Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L; Anil H. Chandiramani; and Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA

Chapter 19    Philosophical Influences on Occupational Therapy in Brazil: A Historical Timeline
Daniel Marinho Cezar da Cruz, PhD, MSc, OT; Daniela da Silva Rodrigues, MSc, OT; and Helen Carey, PhD, MSc Adv OT, Dip COT, OTR/L

Chapter 20    Postmodernism: Foundations for Problematizing and Reimagining Conditions of Possibility
Rebecca M. Aldrich, PhD, OTR/L; Debbie Laliberte Rudman, PhD, OT Reg. (ON); and Aaron Bonsall, PhD, OTR/L

Chapter 21    Intersectionality: Feminist Theorizing in the Pursuit of Justice and Equity
Alison Gerlach, PhD, MSc (OT), and Lilian Magalhães, PhD, OT

Chapter 22    Capable and Occupied: How the Capabilities Approach Can Enrich the “Occupation” Discourse
Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L; Parul Bakhshi, PhD, DEA (MPhil); and Jean­Francois Trani, PhD, MSc, MPhil

Chapter 23    How Philosophy Can Support Occupational Therapy’s Relevance in the 21st Century
Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA; Moses N. Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; and Jyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Financial Disclosures
Index

About the Editors

Steven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA, is Associate Professor in the Program in Occupational Therapy and Department of Medicine and Director of the Teaching Scholars Program at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also co­founder of the Cross-­Campus Educational Research Group, a multidisciplinary community of educational scholars and innovators at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Taff served as Chair of the Commission on Education of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) from 2016 to 2019 and is also a member of the leadership group of the AOTA Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Program. He is a co­author of the AOTA Educational Research Agenda (Revised) and the Educator’s Guide for Addressing Cultural Awareness, Humility, and Dexterity in Occupational Therapy Curricula, and co­editor of the book Perspectives on Occupational Therapy Education: Past, Pre­sent, and ­Future. Dr. Taff was a recipient of the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award in 2017.