Abstract
The roles of grand theory in nursing science are two fold; firstly, it gives philosophical base to nursing practice, secondly, it indicates the area and theme to nursing researches. On the direction of future development of nursing theory, there are two positions among nurse theorists. One position takes a unified theory, the other takes the anti unified theory, and advocates that multiple theories will prompt future development of nursing science. In this article the author proposes symbolic formulation of a nursing theory as a new way of searching the connections between grand theory and middle range theory and researches. In the "Genesis of nursing relationships" model, six symbolic formulas were composed. They are on "The individual in healthy state" "The patient/client" "The nurse" "Nursing situation", and "Nursing practice" respectively. The validity of these symbolic formulas were discussed based on the theory analysis model proposed by Afaf I. Meleis. Also, the relationship between these symbolic formulas and three types of knowledge, such as knowledge of order, knowledge of disorder, and knowledge of control, which Dorothy E. Johnson indicated, was identified.
Thus, the symbolic formulation of a theory suggests the emergence of multiple paradigms in the future of nursing science. Also, in this symbolic formulation, neither theorist's personal value nor world views which presuppose the view of man in her theory could not be composed in symbolic formula. Therefore, these are the areas where their own paradigms might develop in nursing science also.
