1 Towards identifying a philosophical basis of social work Carolyn Noble and Mark Henrickson Social work has absorbed and adapted major theories from related disci- plines since its inception as an applied discipline over 100 years ago. Tese positions have been used to construct its ethical underpinnings and its epis- temological standpoint. In this chapter we revisit this activity and address two questions: can we act as practitioners before we are fully cognisant of the ontological and philosophical position informing our practice? Is it possible to have a unitary, core ‘truth to act’ in light of the current globalisa- tion of cultural norms, intercultural infuences and challenges to intellectual traditions as being patriarchal, colonial and monocultural? Social workers must critically engage with philosophical and theoretical writings in order to understand the bases and implications of their practice decisions. Equally, however, a philosophy of social work must be dynamic, intersubjective and dialogic, and propose that we co-create theory, knowledge and praxis with our clients. Why a philosophy of social work? Social work has emerged as an international discipline and is now practised in many coun- tries around the world: the International Federation of Social Workers claims membership from at least 90 diferent countries (International Federation of Social Workers, n.d.). A key question for the discipline now is what are the shared understandings about the world, communities and individuals that allow social workers from Beijing, Buenos Aires, New York, Durban, Suva, Mumbai, Helsinki or the remote Australian Outback to talk cogently with one another? Tat is, what is social work and its praxis, and what, if any, shared un- derstandings or unifying philosophy can be identifed? It is important to acknowledge at the outset that social work research and pedagogy have been established on the foundations of European knowledge and worldviews (Sung- Chang & Yuen-Tsang 2008). Tese worldviews have been enshrined in the dominant language of social work knowledge discourse, English. In the postmodern era our dis- cussions about social work must occur in the context of globalisation (Desai 2000). As we write this chapter the defnition of social work itself is being reviewed and revised, 3