Philosophical inquiry in nursing: an argument for radical empiricism as a philosophical framework for the phenomenology of addiction.

Philosophical inquiry involves examination of the meaning of a phenomenon within the larger framework of the human condition and a particular view of reality. Argumentation is the method. In this study, the author argues that the metaphysics of radical empiricism enhances the understanding of the immediate subjective experience or phenomenology of addiction. When applied to subjective narratives of the addiction experience from literature, this metaphysics confers meaning to the changes in consciousness that occur in the immediate subjective experience of addiction. Conclusions revealed from the application of this perspective highlight novel feelings, the will and changing sense of self, and the human values of belonging and freedom. This study also revealed the value of the philosophical method of inquiry: to temporize our moral judgments and enrich our perspective of the human values within the addiction phenomenon. These values support and clarify the belief system of nursing.