Suggestions for Thought by Florence Nightingale: Selections and Commentaries / Edition 1

by Michael D. Calabria, Janet A. Macrae

Overview

Florence Nightingale is best known as the founder of modern nursing, a reformer in the field of public health, and a pioneer in the use of statistics. It is not generally known, however, that Nightingale was at the forefront of the religious, philosophical, and scientific though of her time. In a three-volume work that was never published, Nightingale presented her radical spiritual views, motivated by the desire to give those who had turned away from conventional religion an alternative to atheism. In this volume Michael D. Calabria and Janet A. Macrae provide the essence of Nightingale's spiritual philosophy by selecting and reorganizing her best-written treatments. The editors have also provided an introduction and commentary to set the work into a biographical, historical, and philosophical context.

This volume illuminates a little-known dimension of Nightingale's personality, bringing forth the ideas that served as the guiding principles of her work. It is also an historical document, presenting the religious issues that were fiercely debated in the second half of the nineteenth century. In Suggestions for Thought, one has the opportunity to experience a great practical mind as it grapples with the most profound questions of human existence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812215014
Publisher:	University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/1994
Series:	Studies in Health, Illness, and Caregiving
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 9.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Michael D. Calabria is a lecturer in modern languages at St. Bonaventure University. Janet A. Macrae is a registered nurse and author of Nursing as a Spiritual Practice.

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an excellent resource for readers seeking to understand Florence Nightingale's thought and its place in the intellectual and philosophical history of nursing. The book provides fertile ground for study and reflection by those interested in a glimpse into the inner life of a complex and productive woman."

Nursing History Review

Nightingale, pioneer statistician, and healthcare reformer, and the founder of modern nursing, was also a deeply philosophical and spiritual thinker, as revealed in these selections from her three-volume work, written in her thirties and influential on her later writings. Aiming to provide an alternative to atheism for those who had left traditional religion, she struggles to articulate a reasonable faith, liberate women, and develop a sense of the spirit of God within human persons. Historians, feminists, nurses, and those struggling with issues of religious faith in the contemporary world may find this work inspiring. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.

Library Journal

"This book is an excellent resource for readers seeking to understand Florence Nightingale's thought and its place in the intellectual and philosophical history of nursing. The book provides fertile ground for study and reflection by those interested in a glimpse into the inner life of a complex and productive woman."—Nursing History Review

From the Publisher