Transdisciplinarity

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the German-speaking world, transdisciplinarity usually describes a principle of integrative research . This designation is in contrast to the conception of transdisciplinarity as a universal theoretical principle of unity.

Transdisciplinarity is a new word created at the beginning of the 21st century, formed from the Latin prefix trans- (through-, over-, behind-) and the Latin root word disciplina (teaching, discipline, school).

Transdisciplinary research

Everyday problems increasingly require transdisciplinary research. This requirement applies in particular when the available knowledge is uncertain, when it is disputed what the exact problem is, and when much is at stake for those who are directly or indirectly involved or affected. In such a situation, as occurs regularly in sustainability research, for example , the challenge is to first identify the relevant problems and formulate appropriate research questions.

Transdisciplinarity as a principle of integrative research is a methodical approach that combines scientific knowledge and practical knowledge. Within this understanding, transdisciplinary research is based on social problems, but not on questions that arise exclusively from internal scientific discourses. Transdisciplinarity also implies the overarching criticism and reflection of scientific work (e.g. by non-scientists). Another aspect for understanding transdisciplinarity is the extent to which the disciplines and subject areas involved are integrated, which often serves as a distinguishing feature between trans-, inter- and multidisciplinarity . The different and sometimes incompatible uses of the term show that the term transdisciplinarity lacks a uniform definition.

Research-relevant questions relate firstly to empirical processes that have led to the existing situation and can influence future developments (system knowledge). Secondly, this includes questions that have arguments for and against goals as their subject matter (goal knowledge). Thirdly, questions are relevant that deal with the extent to which the existing conditions can be changed in terms of the goals (transformation knowledge).

One of the requirements of a transdisciplinary approach is to grasp problems in their respective complexity. Diverse perspectives in science and in the knowledge society must be adequately taken into account. In addition, abstract science and case-specific relevant knowledge should be combined with the aim of developing a solution to the problems that is oriented towards the common good .

The transdisciplinary research process is usually divided into three phases:

  1. Problem identification and problem structuring
  2. Problem solving
  3. Appreciation or transdisciplinary integration.

If the problem is subdivided into sub-questions during processing, then their processing ideally takes place in close mutual relation to one another. While in the disciplinary research the phase of problem solving is in the foreground, in the transdisciplinary research in principle all three phases have the same importance. The three phases do not necessarily have to be carried out in the order given:
The problem identification and problem structuring of the 1st phase can lead to the result that the remaining time has to be devoted to this task. This first phase can reveal a specific need for research that needs to be dealt with in a disciplinary, transdisciplinary or applied research manner. However, it can already turn out that the problem is basically understood and that it is primarily about the valorisation or dissemination of the existing knowledge (3rd phase).

Transdisciplinary projects

Typical for transdisciplinary projects are the crossing of disciplinary boundaries as well as an interplay of socio-political and scientific-analytical decision-making and problem-solving processes. This interaction is understood differently: On the one hand, the dissolution of the boundaries between science and practice is postulated. On the other hand, the interaction in the sense of a classic input-output understanding of two largely separate areas is discussed. This also includes a negotiation-based coupling of science and politics (boundary work) at the interfaces between fields of knowledge, values ​​and fields of action.

For the problem of integrating heterogeneous (scientific and practical) forms of knowledge at the beginning and at the end of the project, the sociologist Thomas Jahn works with the image of two independent, but at the center closely intertwined processes. This understanding also coincides with the ideas of "mutual learning" (mutual learning process between science and practice) in the context of a transdisciplinary project. With this understanding of transdisciplinarity, the social division of functions between science and the state or economy retains its relevance: However, the boundaries are temporarily relaxed within the framework of a jointly responsible project - an intensive exchange is made possible.

Transdisciplinarity can only arise if the specialists involved in a project interact in an open and transparent dialogue . In the interaction , individual perspectives on the construction of reality are to be relativized. Transdisciplinary work situations require, among other things, due to the wealth of information and the respective technical jargon, a high presence of all people involved. The use of moderators or mediators is required in order to control and promote a critical dialogue.

Transdisciplinarity in the arts

The term transdisciplinarity is also used in the arts, on the one hand for cooperation between different genres of art and on the other hand for the connection of artistic and scientific modes of knowledge and representation.

The questioning and transgression of given, for example disciplinary boundaries is one of the central achievements of artistic modernism; Inter-media projects or the hybridization of different genres within the arts themselves are examples of this. The concept of transdisciplinarity also gives rise to opportunities for cooperation between the arts and sciences. Different but equal forms of knowledge are formed from the cooperation .

Criticism of the use of the term

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

In the natural sciences in particular, the term transdisciplinary is rejected for the following reasons:

  • The usual definitions of this word are contradicting itself and the delimitation with respect to established words is so slight that it does not justify the use of a new term. The elements highlighted as special aspects of transdisciplinarity can always be found in science, depending on the question with different weighting, but often enough also in the above sense, without the need for new names for these different weightings.
  • The prefix trans- (through, over, behind) suggests that the disciplines are an obstacle to be overcome but not to be included (compare, for example, the meanings of the words transatlantic and international ). The self-organization of science in disciplines, however, is not a rigid and hindering, but a constantly modernizing and advantageous system that makes it easier for future generations to learn the existing knowledge and scientific practice. It is not the disciplines themselves that have to be overcome, but the boundaries between them. For this process of exchange between the disciplines or for a point of view above the disciplines, words such as interdisciplinary or interdisciplinary are far better chosen and sufficient.
  • The exchange between science and non-scientific areas of society, emphasized by the proponents of the word transdisciplinary , is not particularly related to the internal self-organization of science into smaller units, but depends on the ability and willingness to cooperate between science and other areas of society. In order to emphasize the cooperation between science and non-scientific areas, the use of the root word discipline (in the sense of a sub-area of ​​science) is therefore inappropriate. Established terms such as holistic or universal are more suitable and sufficient in this context.
  • The word transdisciplinary is often used by non-scientists in the upper hierarchies of science management as a rhetorical stylistic device to clarify their superordinate position and arouses the association of lower-level scientists with a disdain for their work.

See also

literature

  • Philipp W. Balsiger: transdisciplinarity. Systematic comparative investigation of interdisciplinary scientific practice. Fink, Munich / Paderborn 2005, ISBN 3-7705-4092-1 .
  • Matthias Bergmann, Bettina Brohmann, Esther Hofmann, M. Céline Loibl, Regine Rehaag, Engelbert Schramm ; Jan-Peter Voß: Quality Criteria for Transdisciplinary Research. A guide for the formative evaluation of research projects. ISOE Study Texts, No. 13, 2005.
  • Matthias Bergmann, Engelbert Schramm (Ed.): Transdisciplinary research. Understand and evaluate integrative research processes. Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2008.
  • Matthias Bergmann, Thomas Jahn ; Tobias Knobloch, Wolfgang Krohn , Christian Pohl, Engelbert Schramm (eds.): Methods of transdisciplinary research - an overview with application examples Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2010.
  • Alexander Bogner, Karen Kastenhofer, Helge Torgersen (Eds.): Inter- and transdisciplinarity in transition? New perspectives on problem-oriented research and policy advice. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010.
  • K.-W. Brand (Ed.): Sustainable Development and Transdisciplinarity. Special features, problems and requirements of sustainability research. Analytica, Berlin 2000.
  • Rico Defila, Antonietta Di Giulio: "Interdisciplinarity and Disciplinarity". In: J.-H. Olbertz (Ed.): Between the subjects - above the things? Universalization versus specialization of academic education. Leske & Budrich, Opladen 1998, pp. 111-137.
  • Research network management. Handbook for the design of inter- and transdisciplinary projects. vdf Hochschulverlag at the ETH Zurich, Zurich 2006.
  • Matthias Groß , Michael Stauffacher (Eds.): Transdisciplinary Environmental Science: Problem-oriented Projects and Strategic Research Programs, special issue of the journal Interdisciplinary Science Reviews . Vol. 39, no. 4, 2014.
  • Gertrude Hadorn Hirsch, Holger Hoffmann-Riem, Susette Biber-Klemm, Walter Grossenbacher-Mansuy, Dominique Joye, Christian Pohl, Urs Wiesmann, Elisabeth Zemp, (Eds.): Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. Springer, Heidelberg 2008.
  • Erich Hamberger, Kurt Luger (ed.): Transdisciplinary communication. Current meanings of the phenomenon of communication in an interdisciplinary dialogue . Österreichischer Kunst- und Kulturverlag, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-85437-264-6 .
  • Thomas Jahn: Critical transdisciplinarity and the question of transformation . ISOE Discussion Papers, No. 46, Frankfurt am Main, 2020.
  • Erich Jantsch : Towards interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity in education and innovation. In: Leo Apostel L, Berger G, et al. (Ed.): Problems of Teaching and Research in Universities. Paris, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), 1972. pp. 97–121.
  • Jürgen Mittelstraß : transdisciplinarity - scientific future and institutional reality . Universitätsverlag, Konstanz 2003, ISBN 3-87940-786-X .
  • Bernhard von Mutius (ed.): The other intelligence. How we will think tomorrow . Stuttgart, Klett-Cotta 2004, ISBN 3-608-94085-5 .
  • B. Nicolescu: Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity. Translated from the French by Karen-Claire Voss. State University of New York Press, New York 2002.
  • Helga Nowotny , Peter Scott, Michael Gibbons: Re-Thinking Science. Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty. Polity Press, Cambridge 2001.
  • T. Sukopp: Interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Definitions and Concepts. In: Jungert, M .; Romfeld, E .; Sukopp, T./Voigt, U. (Ed.): Interdisciplinarity. Theory, practice, problems. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2010, pp. 13–29.
  • Peter Weingart : The moment of truth? On the relationship between science, politics, business and the media in the knowledge society. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2001.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jürgen Mittelstraß : transdisciplinarity - scientific future and institutional reality . University Press, Konstanz 2003.
  2. ^ Basarab Nicolescu: Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity. State University of New York Press, New York 2002.
  3. ↑ Silvio O. Funtowicz, Jerome R. Ravetz: Science for the post-normal age. Futures 25, September 1993, pp. 739-755.
  4. ^ Matthias Bergmann, Engelbert Schramm (Ed.): Transdisciplinary research. Understand and evaluate integrative research processes. Campus, Frankfurt am Main / New York 2008.
  5. ↑ Science, inter- / transdisciplinarity. Website of the Law Faculty of the Humboldt University Berlin , accessed March 11, 2017.
  6. ^ A b Gertrude Hadorn Hirsch, Holger Hoffmann-Riem, Susette Biber-Klemm, Walter Grossenbacher-Mansuy, Dominique Joye, Christian Pohl, Urs Wiesmann, Elisabeth Zemp, (Eds.): Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. Springer, Heidelberg 2008.
  7. ↑ a b J. Jaeger, Martin Scheringer : Transdisciplinarity. Problem orientation without method pressure. GAIA 7 (1) / 1998, pp. 10-25.
  8. ↑ Peter Weingart : The moment of truth? On the relationship between science, politics, business and the media in the knowledge society. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2001.
  9. ^ Helga Nowotny , Peter Scott, Michael Gibbons: Re-Thinking Science. Knowledge and the Public in an Age of Uncertainty. Polity Press, Cambridge 2001.
  10. ↑ Oliver Lieven, Sabine Maasen: transdisciplinary research. Harbinger of a “New Deal” between science and society? In: GAIA 1/2007, pp. 35-40.
  11. ↑ RW Scholz: Mutual learning as a basic principle of transdisciplinarity. In: RW Scholz, R. Häberli, A. Bill, M. Welti (Eds.): Transdisciplinarity. Joint Problem-Solving among Science, Technology and Society. Haffmans, Zurich 2000, Vol. Workbook II, pp. 13-17.
  12. ↑ Florian Dombois : Art as research. An attempt to create instructions for yourself. In: Hochschule der Künste Bern (Ed.): Hochschule der Künste Bern 2006. Bern 2006, pp. 21–29.