The Spirit of Independence: the evolution of a philosophy.

Making sense of our daily experience is a significantly human pastime. We try to understand and structure our experiences so that we can come to grips with the messiness and confusion of everyday life and by so doing give meaning and direction to our actions. Philosophy is one method that we use for explaining our experiences. A philosophy is a collection of beliefs. A belief is a conviction in the truth of something. Our beliefs are based on our values, experiences, and knowledge. Once we have organized our beliefs into a philosophy, that philosophy provides a powerful, generally nonconscious, guide for our actions (I). It is because of the nonconscious way in which a philosophy influences our actions that it is a ppropriate to reflect on the beliefs that comprise occupational therapy philosophy in regard to functional independence. Functional independence is not just a core concept of occupational therapy theory, it is the goal of the occupational therapy process. Once our beliefs about functional independence have been articulated, we can explore their implications for practice.