Abstract
ABSTRACT In this article, the authors conduct a historical review of recent philosophies influencing the Occupational Therapy profession in the United States (analytic philosophy and Continental varieties such as neopragmatism). Four philosophical categories are explored: epistemology, axiology, ontology, and praxis. The dominant strand of analytic philosophy is characterized by reductionist views of knowledge and reality, with little sustained attention to ethics and practical action. Competing but lesser recognized Continentally-inspired philosophies offer a critical and more phenomenological approach which values human subjectivities, narratives, and social agency. The authors argue that the dominance of analytic philosophy has created the intellectual foundations for neoliberalism to thrive and permeate the profession of Occupational Therapy in its curricula, practice models, reimbursement systems, and research agenda. As this Northern (United States) version of Occupational Therapy expands globally, the danger exists for professional neocolonialism to occur which can negatively influence or contradict more local ways of knowing and doing. The article concludes by offering strategies to unmask, disentangle, and dismantle Occupational Therapy from its Northern roots towards wider acceptance of Southern epistemologies, ethics, and collective action.
Highlights
The profession of Occupational Therapy (OT) originated in the United States- the ‘Global North’- and has been strongly influenced by Northern perspectives in terms of its purpose, values, and supposed best methods
We offer a critique of the consequences of the Northern philosophical orientation and, examine potential opportunities that exist to minimize the professional neocolonialism of Northern Occupational Therapy and inform a more global philosophical paradigm aimed at equitable health and wellbeing for all people
While even a partial history or conceptual exploration of either analytic or Continental philosophy is well beyond the scope of this paper, we suggest with confidence that the current American philosophical landscape in 2021 is a mix of mostly analytic philosophy accompanied by a smaller measure of neopragmatism predisposed to a Continental mindset
Summary
The profession of Occupational Therapy (OT) originated in the United States- the ‘Global North’- and has been strongly influenced by Northern perspectives in terms of its purpose, values, and supposed best methods. Despite more recent counterarguments (Taff & Babulal, 2021), pragmatism (a distinctly American philosophy) has been widely accepted historically as the primary philosophical foundation of Occupational Therapy, and, as such, has influenced all facets of the profession. Pragmatism, with its rejection of metaphysical consideration and focus on experience and experimentation, was assimilated into the positivist and reductionist medical model paradigm to which the young profession of Occupational Therapy aligned itself early in its history (Taff & Babulal, 2021). In the instances where the profession has accepted occupation as a more fundamental consideration, healthcare systems and reimbursement structures based upon reductionist and neoliberal philosophical assumptions have limited its potential (Gupta & Taff, 2015). Many of the basic epistemologies, values, and terminology of Northern Occupational Therapy have been
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