The non-existence of non-compliant families: the influence of Humberto Maturana

J Adv Nurs. 1992 Aug;17(8):913-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1992.tb02018.x.

Abstract

Non-compliance is not only an epistemological error but a biological impossibility. This profound statement arises from the influence of Humberto Maturana's revolutionary meta-theory of cognition. The definitions and significant implications of two major theoretical concepts of this meta-theory of cognition, namely structural determinism and objectivity-in-parenthesis, are discussed. These radical concepts challenge the approved North American Nursing Diagnostic Association's nursing diagnosis of non-compliance. Maturana's theory reveals the impossibility of instructive interaction, leading the authors to conclude the non-existence of non-compliant families.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Cognition*
  • Health Promotion
  • Humans
  • Learning
  • Nurse-Patient Relations
  • Nursing Diagnosis / standards*
  • Patient Education as Topic
  • Patient Participation
  • Psychological Theory*
  • Treatment Refusal*