When we care for people, our beliefs are always present, but do we know which ones they are? The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of believes through different perspectives: philosophy, anthropology, history and nursing.
Subsequent to this small revision, we realize that the concept of “beliefs” is an extremely complex, hard to define, concept. This leads us to consider the difficulty that nursing care entails.
If beliefs replicate the way in which we perceive our world, if we are engraved in them, as claimed by Ortega, it is then certain that we are unaware of a bunch of things, for we derive from these beliefs. If this is so, how can we identify the beliefs that we have as professionals? Is it possible that some of our beliefs may not be compatible with the beliefs of those people we care for? If so, how can we contribute to the care of these people? There is no choice but to reach consensus and a balance. This is the solution provided by Khun: consensus. A new way of looking at things would be to think that before care is started, consensus should be reached with the person being cared for in some key aspects. To think that all beliefs are valid, as pragmatists claim, is a thought that we should dwell on. The fact is that it is important, necessary and complex, to be able to count on the beliefs of the caretakers and the care provided.