Beyond Technification: Ontological and Hermeneutic Foundations of Nursing Care

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the ontological, hermeneutic, and temporal dimensions of nursing care to explore how contemporary nursing practice and professional identity may be understood beyond exclusively technical accounts of care. Drawing primarily on Heidegger's ontology and Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics, and engaging with concepts such as liminality, temporality, vulnerability, and self‐care, the article develops a theoretical framework for understanding nursing as a relational, interpretive, and ethically situated practice. Particular attention is given to the role of understanding, dialogue, and the fusion of horizons ( Horizontverschmelzung ) in clinical encounters, highlighting how caring involves not only technical competence and scientific knowledge but also the interpretation of patients’ lived experiences within specific historical, cultural, and biographical contexts. From this perspective, care emerges as a practice through which professional knowledge, ethical responsibility, and responsiveness to vulnerability are continuously negotiated and enacted. We argue that ontological and hermeneutic approaches enrich contemporary understandings of nursing by illuminating dimensions of care that cannot be fully captured through procedural, managerial, or productivity‐oriented frameworks alone. This perspective contributes to ongoing debates concerning nursing identity, autonomy, clinical decision‐making, and the humanization of healthcare, while reaffirming the importance of integrating scientific rigor, technical excellence, and interpretive understanding within professional nursing practice.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Nursing Inquiry, 2026 · DOI ↗