Greenacre, L. orcid.org/0000-0001-5916-6230 (2024) The Politics of Transdisciplinarity. World Futures, 80 (4). pp. 348-372. ISSN 0260-4027
Abstract
This paper aims to theorize the role of transdisciplinarity in politics. I do this by arguing for an ontological pluralism, using the ideas of Basarab Nicolescu, suggesting a political view can equate to a layer of reality. Nicolescu’s thought indicates that we should think beyond and transcend the political spectrum- a political view is not just a view but an actual part of reality. Next, I use ‘Mode 2’ Science to suggest we should adopt a distributed epistemology which sees everyone as bearers of knowledge, I suggest that politics should take this into consideration. This fits with the pluralism indicated by Nicolescu. Furthermore, I suggest ‘Mode 2’ Science also says that institutions should be permeable- the difference between state, science and society should not be seen as solid. Institutions should also be seen as transitory in nature. Next, I argue Edgar Morin’s complex thinking indicates how we should gather knowledge and how society should be governed. Particularly, it shows that governance should consist of teams, in which the state acts as a catalyst for bringing a wide group of people together. These ‘teams’ and the state can be activated or deactivated depending on the situation, therefore preventing an accumulation of power, while also allowing effective governance if required. Finally, I use complex network theory to characterize how the pertinent temporary configurations of relations would work and the factors that might affect them. Using network theory allows us to conceptualize these relations as dynamic, connected, vulnerable, clustered and yet also having a few figures (in this case the state) that can connect people. Following all of this, we come to a new pluralistic, egalitarian, transitory, but most of all transdisciplinary view of governance.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
Keywords: | Complexity; epistemology; network; ontology; transdisciplinarity |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Sociology and Social Policy (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 May 2024 09:20 |
Last Modified: | 04 Oct 2024 10:47 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/02604027.2024.2330253 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:212602 |
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