Theoretical nursing : development and progress / Afaf Ibrahim Meleis, PhD, FAAN, LL, Dean Emeritus, Professor of Nursing and Sociology, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Professor Emeritus, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Positioning for the journey -- On being and becoming a scholar -- Theory : metaphors, symbols, definitions -- From can't to Kant : barriers and forces toward theoretical thinking -- On the way to theoretical nursing : stages and milestones -- The discipline of nursing : perspective and domain -- Sources, resources, and paradoxes for theory -- Our syntax : an epistemological analysis -- Nursing theories through mirrors, microscopes, or telescopes -- A model for evaluation of theories : description, analysis, critique, testing, and support -- On needs and self-care -- On interactions -- On outcomes -- Developing concepts -- Developing theories -- Developing middle-range theory -- Developing situation-specific theories / Eun-Ok Im and Afaf Meleis -- Measuring progress in a discipline -- Fifth generation theorists : passion for advancing theory -- Historical writings in theory -- Historical and current theory bibliography.