definition comes from the International Centre of Transdisciplinarity Research
“Transdisciplinarity is not concerned with the simple transfer of a model from one branch of
knowledge to another, but rather with the study of isomorphisms between the different
domains of knowledge. To put it another way, transdisciplinarity takes into account the
consequences of a flow of information circulating among the various branches of
knowledge, permitting the emergence of unity amidst diversity and diversity through unity.
Its objective is to lay bare the nature and characteristics of this flow of information and its
principal task is the elaboration of a new language, a new logic, and new concepts to
permit the emergence of a real dialogue between the specialists in the different domains of
knowledge.”
What happens when different cultures in addition to different disciplines try to dialogue? If
it is possible to build bridges
between disciplines, towards a unity in knowledge, it may
also be possible to apply transdisciplinarity to different cultures. Article 10 of the Charter
, in particular, says: “No single culture is privileged over any other
culture. The transdisciplinary approach is inherently transcultural.”
I have tried to apply transciplinarity to the course, with the different cultures I meet, all
based on values which belong to human experience.
Transcultural dialogue in practice
I proposed to the students some values at the basis of Western culture which derive from
Western philosophy: person and individual. I started from the definition of terms according
to ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Then I introduced these words according to the
other five cultures. For each of them I needed to start from their culture of origin, before
the European conquest. Therefore, I briefly introduced African thinking, Pre-Columbian
and Philippine societies, Confucianism and Hinduism, as the ancient philosophies and
religions that influenced the development of Chinese and Indian cultures.
For each culture I asked the students of that country to expand on the explanation with
their own contribution and I asked the class to ask them more questions to gain a better
understanding. Elements that were common to all the cultures slowly became visible.
8
This sentence comes from the moral project of transdisciplinarity according the International Centre of
Transdisciplinarity Research, a not-for-profit organization founded in Paris in 1987
(
9
This expression comes from the book “Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity” by Basarab Nicolescu
(
10
This document was adopted by the participants of the first World Congress of Transdisciplinarity in Portugal in 1994:
(
12
Convention