To be or Not to be Transdisciplinary, That is the New Question. So, How to be Transdisciplinary?

Abstract

Centuries ago Hamlet, the famous character, asked himself a similar question. We now have to deal with the actualization of this fundamental ontological issue: “how to be” (or how not to be). Why. The difference is that in ancient times, humanity could have a long-term vision of its development (the planet earth was mostly unknown by Europeans). This is a vision we dont have anymore, as the anthropocentric period will collapse soon if humanity does not change its beliefs and way of life. Where. Since Shakespeare, the world has become a small village through globalization and the increase of all kinds of networks. So the question still remains valid anywhere on our planet, and even in outer space, where some futurologists plan a possible (and non-sensical) human extension. Propositions to discuss. We should try to answer this question by beginning here and now, as sciences and the worlds traditional wisdoms agree that all issues start from the inner self of each human being. So we have to increase knowledge by conducting research both in human sciences (philosophical and practical) and fundamental sciences (theoretical and applied). How. Certainly, each one of us tries to be a good human being... but we also must not forget that we are not alone, which means we also have to learn how to live better all together. This brings us to translate the question from just a personal position (point of view) and instead in its collective and social dimension. It means the whole thing might become a question of education: we probably have to (re)-invent a new pedagogy. It should include: transdisciplinary approach, complex thinking process, transpersonal psychology, soft skills, consciousness, spirituality (not to be confused with religion) etc. The use of (always) new technologies must be part of this investigation, as they can increase our awareness and consciousness, creating a new field called technontologies (i.e. technics + ontology). Then, we will approach a transdisciplinary paradigm for our personal and collective lives, for a future of hope and fair sharing of the only planet we collectively need to take care of. Therefore we need work together to find the answer to this question: “how to be transdisciplinary”?

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 19 citations exist upstream.