Philosophy and Occupational Therapy

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.

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; andSteven D. Taff, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP, FAOTA Chapter 9 Pragmatic Foundations: Instrumentalism and Transactionalism in Occupational Therapy Moses N. Ikiugu, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, andRanelle 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, andSteven 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, andSteven 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, andJyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA Chapter 16 Critical Theory: Resources for Questioning and Transforming Everyday Life Lisette Farias, PhD, MScOT, Reg. OT, andRebecca 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; andDon Fogelberg, PhD, OTR/L Chapter 18 Deconstruction and the Institution of Occupation Ganesh M. Babulal, PhD, OTD, MSCI, MOT, OTR/L;Anil H. Chandiramani; andSteven 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; andHelen 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); andAaron Bonsall, PhD, OTR/L Chapter 21 Inter Sectionality: 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); andJean­Francois 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; andJyothi Gupta, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA Financial Disclosures Index