Many definitions of occupational therapy include reference to both art and science. Kielhofner (1997) identified balancing art and science as a value of the emerging paradigm in occupational therapy. In this article, I argue that valuing an art-science balance reflects the pluralistic nature of occupational therapy and that recovering our phenomenological knowledge is a key to achieving this balance. I present two aspects of phenomenology. The first relates to the way occupational therapists strategically use an understanding of the constructed nature of experience to bring about therapeutic outcomes. The second is reflected in a call for occupational therapists to adopt a critical perspective on their own practice. Finally, I briefly discuss art and science with reference to the work of the philosopher Paul Ricoeur
