BEYOND REFLECTION - PRACTICAL WISDOM AND THE PRACTICAL SYLLOGISM

The relationship between the way nurses think and the actions they per form is one of the key debates within the nursing profession. It has b een assumed that the thinking that precedes and follows nursing action s has been described within the reflective practitioner doctrine. It i s suggested that this is not so, as the reflective doctrine has not on ly failed to explicate the link between theory and practice but some r eflective theorists have perpetuated the theory-practice gap by separa ting thought and action. Instead it is argued that Aristotle's concept ions of Practical Wisdom and the Practical Syllogism provide a framewo rk in which the link between thinking and doing are described. Practic al wisdom is a form of knowledge that can be claimed by those who purp ort to deal with human good. Unlike theoretical knowledge, practical w isdom ends not in an intellectual conclusion but in the actual perform ing of some action designed to produce good for fellow humans. These a ctions are taken only after the practically wise person decides, consc iously or unconsciously, the most effective and morally right option. The practical syllogism is that particular feature of critical thinkin g that links theory and practice in practice professions. The practica l syllogism describes the means-end considerations that underpin all a ctions undertaken by nurses. It is not suggested that all the delibera tions of those with practical wisdom is syllogistic in nature but that this is a central feature of the way in which nurses approach the car e they deliver.