Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

Jean Watson's classic first edition of Nursing introduced the science of human caring and quickly became one of the most widely used and respected sources of conceptual models for nursing. This completely new edition offers a contemporary update and the most current perspectives on the evolution of the original philosophy and science of caring from the field's founding scholar.


A core concept for nurses and the professional and non-professional people they interact with, "care" is one of the field's least understood terms, enshrouded in conflicting expectations and meanings. Although its usages vary among cultures, caring is universal and timeless at the human level, transcending societies, religions, belief systems, and geographic boundaries, moving from Self to Other to community and beyond, affecting all of life.


This second edition reflects on the universal effects of caring and connects caring with love as the primordial moral basis both for the philosophy and science of caring practices and for healing itself. It introduces Caritas Processes, offers centering and mediation exercises on an included audio CD, and provides other energetic and reflective models to assist students and practitioners in cultivating a new level of Caritas Nursing in their work and world.

Dr. Jean Watson has been recognized as a Living Legend of the American Academy of Nursing, its highest honor. She is Distinguished Professor and Dean Emerita, University of Colorado Denver, College of Nursing Anschutz Medical Center campus, where she held the nation’s first endowed Chair in Caring Science for sixteen years. She also founded the original Center for Human Caring in Colorado. She is founder and director of the nonprofit organization Watson Caring Science Institute (www.watsoncaringscience.org). Watson is a widely published author and has received many awards, including fourteen honorary doctoral degrees from around the world. Her theory of human caring and model of caring science are used across the globe.