Down to Earth Transdisciplinarity

Abstract

Given the nature of the global problems we face as a result of climate change, mass migration, conflict, water quality, the degradation of land and loss of biodiversity -the simple (if complex) facts our global connectedness -there are, critically, very clear ethical and moral dimensions about how we inquire into, and organise knowledge, and the purposes to which it is put. The scale of the problems we confront cannot be tackled successfully by specific disciplines and current modes of enquiry. These are 'wicked messes' (McGregor 2015): They are intractable and defy simple definitions and simple solutions. At the heart of the transdisciplinary enterprise is the absolute respect for the person, our human connectedness, and that we inhabit one earth. Transdisciplinary knowledge that does not take account of the (perilous) human condition will fail to improve life and human flourishing.Transdisciplinary thinkers and pioneers, such as Basarab Nicolescu and Edgar Morin, recognising that the world is simply too big and far too complex to know just by disciplinary knowledge alone, have created new principles, criteria, or articles to further knowledge. Nicolescu, a theoretical physicist, is perhaps one of the most influential thinkers in this area. His concept of transdisciplinarity avows complexity, a fundamental feature of human life, on the basis that life consists of different levels and dimensions of reality: subjectivity, objectivity, and the 'hidden third' between the subject and object. The hidden third is an interaction term which permits the 'unification of the transdisciplinary Subject and the transdisciplinary Object while preserving their difference' (Nicolescu 2012: 13).Together with Morin and de Freitas, a Portuguese artist, Nicolescu devised the 'Manifesto for Transdisciplinarity' (Nicolescu 1992) which consists of 14 articles. Article 3 states that transdisciplinarity complements disciplinary approaches and offers 'a new vision of nature and reality'. It does not attempt 'mastery of several disciplines' but 'aims to open all disciplines to that which they share and that which lies beyond them'.Article 5 calls for dialogue between the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences, along with art, literature, poetry, and spiritual experience. Article 8 explicitly asserts the dignity of human beings, who, as inhabitants of Earth, are transnational and transcultural-no culture is privileged over another (Article 10). Shared knowledge should result in shared understanding of the 'absolute respect for the collective and individual'. Finally, in Article 4. '[r]igor, opening and tolerance are the fundamental characteristics of the transdisciplinary attitude and vision' (Nicolescu 1992) (emphases from the original).

Postdigital Research: Genealogies, Challenges, and Future Perspectives

“…These practices range anywhere from arts-based research, through humanities and social sciences, to natural sciences and engineering. Some of this epistemic anarchy (Feyerabend 1970(Feyerabend /1993) can be attributed to troubling distinctions and boundaries across disciplinary research approaches, which now attract a lot of attention in the journal (see MacKenzie 2022;Green 2022). What are the other possible sources of the 'Jack-of-all-trades' nature of postdigital research?…”