Nursing

Based on the required topic study materials, write a reflection about worldview and respond to following:

In 250-300 words, explain the Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care.
In 250-300 words, explain what scientism is and describe two of the main arguments against it.
In 750-1,000 words, answer each of the worldview questions according to your own personal perspective and worldview:
What is ultimate reality?
What is the nature of the universe?
What is a human being?
What is knowledge?
What is your basis of ethics?
What is the purpose of your existence?
Remember to support your reflection with the topic study materials.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

ANSWER

Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care.

Christianity plays a vital role in offering perspective on the nature of ethics and spirituality by interpreting and providing guidance from a religious perspective. Religion is embodied around the concept of God as a superior and spiritual being and explains His notion and nature. According to the Christian religion, God is all-knowing and the most Supreme Being and reigns over his followers (Niebuhr, 2012). Thus, his teachings and commands are to be followed by His followers. These teachings and spiritual guidelines are contained in the Bible and teach Christians to strive to be upright beings that seek to do well. The beliefs held in the Bible give life meaning and purpose that human beings play in the world. Therefore, Christians believe that all that happens in the world is permitted and controlled according to God’s will. The spirituality embedded in this concept allows Christians to live only in the conformity of God’s word (Niebuhr, 2012). Therefore, Christians believe that the nature of ethics should be spiritual and only aligned to the will and teachings of God. In the healthcare system, Christians use their skills to offer medical attention as they adhere to their spiritual beliefs. Their ethical decision-making is based on what they believe God would do. They believe in reducing suffering in their patients and giving hope to them in the pursuit of restoring their lives to normalcy (Niebuhr, 2012).

Postmodern relativism, on the other hand, is more liberal and allows a spiritual and free world that is all welcoming of all truth (Fox, 2014). There being no absolute truth, postmodern relativism enables the possibility of God existing or not existing. In healthcare ethics, postmodern relativism asserts that all healthcare concepts are welcomed, and none is more subject to contradiction than the other. It embraces multicultural healthcare spirituality opinions and appreciates different cultures without exceptions (Fox, 2014). In postmodern relativism, there is no absolute truth, unlike Christianity, which believes that only God is the absolute truth.

Explain what scientism is and describe two of the main arguments against it.

Scientism advocates that hard sciences are the only reliable source of offering absolute truths and genuine knowledge (Burnett, 2014). It acknowledges that hard sciences present superior scientific knowledge as they solely rely on experimentation and laws of nature. Hard sciences revolve around physics and biology, based on factual, reliable, and accurate data (Burnett, 2014). Hard sciences also boast of the fact that since they are based on absolute factual information, they cannot be easily disputed and manipulated by other external opinions. Soft sciences, on the other hand, are subject to criticism and interference of other opinions since they are pseudoscience underlined by guesses and data with no satisfactory experimentation. The fact that soft sciences rely on subjectivism makes them inferior to hard sciences since they are easily manipulated and subject to human influences (Burnett, 2014). Hard sciences are based on factual experimentation and sufficient data, making them a reliable source of scientific information. In simpler terms, the main difference between hard and soft sciences is based on the perceived value of the information that they each present in their different ways. Thus, scientism advocates for hard sciences as the most reliable source compared to soft sciences.

Scientism has two main arguments against its concepts that challenge the ideas and superiority that it claims. The first argument is that hard sciences are not the absolute truth as scientism seems to claim (Burnett, 2014). They are subject to change with the invention of new measuring and experimenting tools and the change in environmental factors. For instance, scientific beliefs gathered and declared absolute in the 1800s significantly differ from the current world. In sciences, new information continues to be unveiled daily, challenging the old information. Therefore, it would be wrong to conclude that hard sciences are the absolute truth. The second argument is that the preinstalled absolute notion that hard sciences operate under makes it hard to regard personal opinion (Burnett, 2014). Personal opinion is an integral part of any scientific invention. Personal information may have a broader perspective on hard sciences and even recommend important scientific improvements and recommendations. Unlike hard sciences, soft sciences have room for these personal opinions, which is an important aspect of advancing sciences.

What is ultimate reality?

Ultimate reality is a concept surrounded by the belief that human beings are the product of the environment (Snooks, 2016). Every person is a product of the nature of the environment surrounding them or where they have been raised. The environment defines the type of person that one is bound to become. Such environmental aspects that surround a person include the government, parents, friends, schools, and the neighborhood, among others. These environmental conditions influence the kind of behavior, mentality, and tolerance by shaping them into a certain perspective. For instance, I would be more accepting if I were a religious person and less accepting of pagans. These two affiliations share different beliefs, and I would, by default, abide by one of them if I were brought up in a more dominant environment. Ultimate reality greatly influences the mentality of a person and behavior.

What is the nature of the universe?

The nature of the Universe operates under the influence of time, which makes it susceptible to inevitable change (Kohut & Saris, 2011). The extent and direction of this change influence the direction of the Universe. The change focuses on the prioritization of different energy levels, and these changes are influenced by competition, evolution, energy conversion, and extinction. All these factors determine the nature of change the Universe is bound to undergo. For instance, competition entails the struggle of acquiring scarce universal resources. Extinction is simply survival for the fittest and befalls the components that are unable to compete. Evolution involves adapting to the improved version of environmental changes. Energy conversion is the change in different universal energies that are beneficial to different parties, for example, solar energy and plants.

What is a human being?

A human being can be defined from two different perspectives, the religious and biological perspectives (Sleator, 2010). The biological perspective defines human beings as products of evolution that have the necessary skills to adapt to the constantly changing environment. This adaption allows them to develop higher thought process crucial for their survival and needs. As they continue to adapt and develop higher thought processes, they can design complex technology and languages crucial for their survival. As the complex nature of technology continues to grow, human beings can create a modified version of other human beings.  On the other hand, religion acknowledges God as the Supreme Being and creator (Sleator, 2010). The Bible says that God created human beings in his likeness and instructed them to procreate. This procreation process gives rise to more human beings and more evolution, who live under the rules and guidelines instructed by their creator, God. In both concepts, human beings are the most superior creatures in the Universe. They have control over the animals and different environmental factors like planting or cutting trees that can affect them positively and negatively.

What is knowledge?

Knowledge is acquired through experience and education and entails skills, facts, and information crucial to the understating and universal survival (Maritain, 2020). Knowledge can be passed down through generations by word of mouth and by teaching certain skills. In the classroom environment, knowledge is gained through education. It entails teaching facts and evaluating information that can be accurate as information is rarely distorted through sharing, unlike passing information by word of mouth. Experience is an important aspect of gaining knowledge. It involves a set of repeated practices to familiarize oneself with a set of skills (Maritain, 2020). After experience and formal education, the gained knowledge allows human beings to have advanced thought. Thought allows human beings to maneuver through circumstances and interpret information for their gain. High thought makes human beings superior, as they can use it to manipulate the environment to their advantage. For instance, gaining knowledge in the field of medicine will enable a person to treat and create better living conditions for other human beings.

What is your basis of ethics?

My basis of ethics is based on my personal beliefs and the influence of public principles and beliefs. My personal beliefs, opinions, and awareness govern my ethical decision-making by choosing whether do the right or wrong thing. Personally, I prefer to do good to other people as I am a strong believer in Karma. I believe that the wrong things done unto others ultimately and almost inevitably are bound to happen to me. I believe that I should treat people the same way that I would want to be treated. My moral ethics are influenced by my surroundings and upbringing, which has taught me always to be compassionate of other people and respect their opinions. On the other hand, my basis of ethics is also influenced by public principles and beliefs. We live in a structuralized environmental setting that is operated by a set of rules. Such laws called the constitution, govern my basis of ethics as I cannot merely do my own will without regarding the laws set in place. Likewise, other people’s beliefs, like religious affiliations, also govern my basis of ethics. For instance, I may not agree with a certain religion on a different concept of society, but I am expected to tolerate and respect them because his the world we live in, everybody has a right to their own opinion and freedom of expression.

What is the purpose of your existence?

I have several purposes of existence. The first one is that I believe I am mandated to Worship God since I believe He is my creator. My purpose on earth is to live according to his will and his teachings. The teachings of God require me to do well unto others and give a helping hand in whatever aspect. I feel like it is my obligation to make the world a better place in whatever way I can. Human beings are partly to blame for making the world intolerable, either directly or indirectly, for other people. Therefore, it is my responsibility to contribute my fair share of resources to make life bearable for the people that I can. My other purpose of existence is to a peaceful and successful life. This entails having a successful career, a good family, and peace. I believe that peace is an important aspect of survival. We were not created to suffer and live in anxiety our whole lives. Therefore, I have made it my responsibility to look after myself and surround myself with positive energy and people that can bring peace to my life.

References

Burnett, T. (2014). What Is Scientism?. American Association for the Advancement of Science, accessed, 13.

Fox, N. J. (2014). Poststructuralism and postmodernism. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society, 1855-1860.

Kohut, P., & Saris, M. (2011). The Nature of the Universe.

Maritain, J. (2020). Degrees of Knowledge.

Niebuhr, R. (2012). An interpretation of Christian ethics. Westminster John Knox Press Snooks, G. D. (2016). Ultimate Reality and its Dissidents. Canberra: IGDS.

Sleator, R. D. (2010). The human superorganism–of microbes and men.