The philosophy of Human Occupation and the social paradigm of the Occupation. Some reflections and suggestions on current epistemologies in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science.

Abstract

This essay corresponds to the establishment of an epistemological position inside the current paradigm of the occupational therapy, which we call Social Paradigm of Occupation. We are making this proposal from professional practice and critical analysis of the scientific knowledge and position of the occupational therapy and the occupational science. This analysis is located in a historical, epistemological (from the roots of the discipline) and contextual perspective (consistent with the culture and the region) supported by the Philosophy of Science.

The proposal is developed after reviewing the various successive epistemological positions of the Philosophy of Science, from the beginnings of the discipline until our time, doing a meta-analysis about the influence of these positions in the formation and development of the profession. To that end, we position ourselves in a particular branch of the Philosophy of Science that allow us to do a second order reflection from the Human Occupation Philosophy, regarding the categorization elaborated by Kielhofner about the practice of occupational therapy. This proposal describes three paradigms that characterize the Occupational Therapy in three different historical periods, which have been influencing clinical practice, values, objectives and the scientific evidence that have supported the professional work.

Following this line, we conclude that it is necessary to the discipline to adopt a complex epistemology and thinking, according to the definition proposed by Edgar Morin. This way it would be possible to continue the theoretic development of the profession that allows us to answer to the new challenges that rise from the subjects we work with and their contexts.