23,332 research outputs found

    Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity: Jan Cornelius Schmidt’s Critical-reflexive Problem-oriented Interdisciplinarity

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    Philosophers were reluctant to address interdisciplinarity during the 20th century. But things have changed in the 21st century, since a two-level relationship between philosophy and interdisciplinarity has been established: philosophy of interdisciplinarity and philosophy as interdisciplinarity. Thus far scholars have shown more interest in exploring the first level of that relationship. The aim of this article is to closely examine the developmental path of a philosophy of interdisciplinarity envisioned and constructed by Jan Cornelius Schmidt in the past two decades. In our opinion, it has reached two milestones. The first (2008) being the one in which he clarified the vague notion of interdisciplinarity and classified its four types with the help of philosophy of science, and the second (2011) being the one in which he opted for problem-oriented interdisciplinarity. Schmidt’s philosophy of interdisciplinarity has reached its (current) peak (2022), resulting in a philosophical framework which promotes problem-orientation and critical-reflexivity in interdisciplinary endeavors. Thereby Schmidt has created prerequisites for the construction of philosophy as interdisciplinarity

    Chapter 1 Introduction

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    Interdisciplinarity—including its cognate transdisciplinarity—is a hallmark of contemporary knowledge production. The term is omnipresent in science, technology, and economy as well as in society and higher education—fueling the rhetoric of present-day knowledge politics. But what does interdisciplinarity stand for? What is, what was, and what should interdisciplinarity be, particularly for the future of our knowledge production? – These fundamental and related questions and their relevance to science policy and research practice are the subject of this introductory chapter. Starting from the diagnosis that interdisciplinarity has lost its critical momentum and its original spirit, the need for a Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity is sketched. In light of the ambivalence of the technosciences and the challenge of sustainable development, this engaged philosophy provides a novel perspective on interdisciplinarity in science policy and research practice. The opening chapter outlines the difference between a strategic-instrumentalist and a critical-reflexive view of interdisciplinarity, giving greater weight to the latter considering the future of our knowledge production. It sets out the line of argumentation pursued throughout the book, which seeks to inject a more critical viewpoint into the vibrant discourse on the concept and practice of interdisciplinarity for sustainable development

    Problems and Prospects of Interdisciplinarity: The Case of Philosophy of Science

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    In this paper, we discuss some problems and prospects of interdisciplinary encounters by focusing on philosophy of science as a case study. After introducing the case, we give an overview about the various ways in which philosophy of science can be interdisciplinary in Section 2. In Section 3, we name some general problems concerning the possible points of interaction between philosophy of science and the sciences studied. In Section 4 we compare the advantages and risks of interdisciplinarity for individual researchers and institutions. In Section 5, we discuss interdisciplinary PhD programs, in particular concerning two main problems: increased workload and the quality of supervision. In the final Section 6, we look at interdisciplinary careers beyond the PhD

    Chapter 1 Introduction

    Get PDF
    Interdisciplinarity—including its cognate transdisciplinarity—is a hallmark of contemporary knowledge production. The term is omnipresent in science, technology, and economy as well as in society and higher education—fueling the rhetoric of present-day knowledge politics. But what does interdisciplinarity stand for? What is, what was, and what should interdisciplinarity be, particularly for the future of our knowledge production? – These fundamental and related questions and their relevance to science policy and research practice are the subject of this introductory chapter. Starting from the diagnosis that interdisciplinarity has lost its critical momentum and its original spirit, the need for a Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity is sketched. In light of the ambivalence of the technosciences and the challenge of sustainable development, this engaged philosophy provides a novel perspective on interdisciplinarity in science policy and research practice. The opening chapter outlines the difference between a strategic-instrumentalist and a critical-reflexive view of interdisciplinarity, giving greater weight to the latter considering the future of our knowledge production. It sets out the line of argumentation pursued throughout the book, which seeks to inject a more critical viewpoint into the vibrant discourse on the concept and practice of interdisciplinarity for sustainable development

    (Post)Modern Asymmetry: Calibrating the Adult Education Philosophy and Practices of Faculty Teaching Interdisciplinary Studies in the Community College

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    In adult education, the term interdisciplinarity is often treated as an agent for transforming teaching, learning, and research. This appreciation of the concept proliferates despite the fact that its actualization often supports competing interpretations and practices. Many adult educators are unaware of the distinctions made among instrumental, conceptual, and critical interdisciplinarity and the philosophical traditions employed to legitimate their different trajectories. To address these concerns and others, scholars such as Lattuca (2001) have advanced a postmodern conceptualization of interdisciplinarity and introduced a supporting theoretical framework to clarify its character and modes of operation. However, she omitted community college faculty from her study. She also undervalued the asymmetry of power in the postmodern logic used to substantiate the study’s theoretical underpinnings. To address these concerns in Lattuca\u27s innovation, this case study used a mixed methods approach to reveal the ways that faculty members at a large community college in the Midwest contribute to interdisciplinary education and enrich postmodern interdisciplinarity. The findings revealed the following themes and subthemes: philosophy as framework and continuum, alignment of philosophy and practices, purposes of interdisciplinary education, postmodern epistemological sentiments, modern epistemological sentiments, teacher-centered approaches, and student-centered approaches. They also revealed how the participants’ philosophy of adult education and practices interrelated and how they supported instrumental, conceptual, or critical interdisciplinarity and their interstices. Furthermore, the significant ways in which the participants’ praxis signaled the asymmetry of power and value in higher education and beyond were examined. For future consideration, the author introduced Foucauldian architectonics, a postulation on the simultaneity of differences and power, as the kind of postmodern interdisciplinary additive that novice and seasoned adult educators can use to (re)develop their philosophies of education and (re)calibrate their practices as subjects and agents of disciplinarity

    Specialisation, Interdisciplinarity, and Incommensurability

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    Incommensurability may be regarded as driving specialisation, on the one hand, and as posing some problems to interdisciplinarity, on the other hand. It may be argued, however, that incommensurability plays no role in either specialisation or interdisciplinarity. Scientific specialties could be defined as simply 'different' (that is, about different things), rather than 'incommensurable' (that is, competing for the explanation of the same phenomena). Interdisciplinarity could be viewed as the co- ordinated effort of scientists possessing complemetary and interlocking skills, and not as the overcoming of some sort of incommensurable divide. This article provides a comprehensive evaluative examination of the relations between specialisation, interdisciplinarity, and incommensurability. Its aim is to defend the relevance of incommensurability to both specialisation and interdisciplinarity. At the same time, it aims at correcting the tendency, common among many philosophers, to regard incommensurability in a restrictive manner - such as, for example, as an almost purely semantic issu

    Multi-, Cross-, Inter-, Transdisciplinarity – Fact or Fiction? Does Archaeology Need a Hand Blender?

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    The concepts multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity (crossdisciplinarity), and transdisciplinarity are defined, and examples are given. Whether interdisciplinarity is a novel development, a “new buzzword”, or a “new status quo” is discussed. The examples contrast ideals versus realities, and also show what obstacles interdisciplinary research may meet, particularly regarding publication. Interdisciplinarity is described as a continuum with minimum and maximum ends. Examples of archaeological research, from both ends of this continuum, are offered. It is claimed that, in other sciences (specifically, medicine and psychology), “interdisciplinarity” is neither a buzzword nor a new concept and research strategy. It is, rather, “business as usual”, and “status quo”, and actually, is the case also in much archaeological research. The backdrop for the conflicts regarding interdisciplinary research is described as deriving from conflicts within philosophy of science. Yet, new positive and promising theoretical developments exist, along with new corresponding methodological developments. The conclusion is that various fields, theoretical positions, and methodologies need not compete, but may complement each other in problem-focused research.publishedVersio

    Crossing the interdisciplinary divide : political science and biological science

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    This article argues that interdisciplinary collaboration can offer significant intellectual gains to political science in terms of methodological insights, questioning received assumptions and providing new perspectives on subject fields. Collaboration with natural scientists has been less common than collaboration with social scientists, but can be intellectually more rewarding. Interdisciplinary work with biological scientists can be especially valuable given the history of links between the two subjects and the similarity of some of the methodological challenges faced. The authors have been involved in two projects with biological scientists and this has led them critically to explore issues relating to the philosophy of science, in particular the similarities and differences between social and natural science, focusing on three issues: the problem of agency, the experimental research design and the individualistic fallacy. It is argued that interdisciplinary research can be fostered through shared understandings of what constitutes 'justified beliefs'. Political science can help natural scientists to understand a more sophisticated understanding of the policy process. Such research brings a number of practical challenges and the authors explain how they have sought to overcome them

    The Confluence of Interaction Design & Design: from Disciplinary to Transdisciplinary Perspectives

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    In keeping with the conference theme of rigour and the authors’ interest in sustainability and interaction design, we describe the confluence of design-oriented notions of interaction design and HCI-oriented notions of interaction design in terms of understanding the present and making choices about possible futures. We comment on the variety of research modes in this confluence and then take up the issue of how disciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, and interdisciplinarity operate and fail to operate as boundary crossing mechanisms for these research modes. As a complement and extension to disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary practices, we take up the notion of transdisciplinarity and describe how it informs the possibility of values-rich free boundary crossing between research modes in the service of real world issues, while still preserving rigour. Keywords: Transdisciplinarity; Interaction Design; Design Research; Sustainability; Disciplinarity; Multidisciplinarity; Interdisciplinarity.</p
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