Philosophical Underpinnings of the Transdisciplinary Research Methodology

Abstract

T his paper is predicated on two assumptions. First, many scholars do not appreciate the philosophical underpinnings of their research, commonly grounded in three dominant methodologies -empirical, interpretive and critical. Second, if scholars were more familiar with a newcomertransdisciplinary (TD) research methodology -they would be more inclined to embrace it in their research. The paper begins with an explanation of four philosophical axioms (ontology, epistemology, logic and axiology) shaping the aforementioned dominant research methodologies. Then, each Nicolescuian TD axiom is described: (a) multiple levels of Reality mediated by the Hidden Third (ontology); (b) knowledge as complex, emergent, cross-fertilized and embodied (epistemology); (c) inclusive logic (logic of complexity) to facilitate contradiction reconciliation; and (d) transdisciplinary value formation (axiology). The paper concludes with a preliminary overview of Nicolescuian TD research methodology in action. When used in concert with the three longstanding research methodologies, the Nicolescuian approach holds promise for addressing the complexities facing humanity.

Transdisciplinarity and Transpraxis

“…This discussion is informed by Nicolescu's (2002Nicolescu's ( , 2014 [2,9] transdisciplinary methodology (i.e., a new way to create knowledge relative to empirical, interpretive and critical methodologies, see McGregor, 2018) [10]. Nicolescu formulated transdisciplinarity as a way to overcome the inadequacies of mono, multi and interdisciplinarity in addressing the complex, wicked problems humanity faces (e.g., climate change, unsustainability, poverty, health crises, loss of diversity, terrorism).…”

“…Nicolescu's TD methodology comprises three philosophical axioms: (a) multiple levels of Reality (internal and external to humans) whose interaction is mediated by the Hidden Third, an invisible unifying force (ontology); (b) knowledge as complex, emergent, cross fertilized and embodied (epistemology); and (c) inclusive logic (and the logic of complexity) to both temporarily reconcile contradictions inherent in multiple perspectives and integrate different ways of knowing into new transdisciplinary knowledge (Nicolescu, 2002(Nicolescu, , 2014 [2,9]. Ontology is of special interest to this discussion; see McGregor (2018) [10] for an overview of the other axioms, including axiology (values).…”

“…Ontology (Greek ontos, 'to be') is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of reality (having existence or substance), the world, being, and becoming (McGregor, 2018) [10]. Nicolescu's (2002) [2] ontological formulation is of interest to this discussion of transdisciplinary transpraxis because reality is where key transpraxis notions seem to come into play: resistance, mutual struggle, becoming, and shared meanings (Arrigo, 2006;Arrigo & Bersot, 2016) [6,13].…”

“…Nicolescu's (2002) [2] ontological formulation is of interest to this discussion of transdisciplinary transpraxis because reality is where key transpraxis notions seem to come into play: resistance, mutual struggle, becoming, and shared meanings (Arrigo, 2006;Arrigo & Bersot, 2016) [6,13]. Classical science assumes there is one reality waiting to be discovered using the scientific method (McGregor, 2011a, 2018) [10,14]. Nicolescu (who capitalizes Reality) formulated Reality as a "multileveled structure" (2014, p. 31 [9]) comprising the TD-Subject, TD-Object, and the Hidden Third.…”

“…If something is subjective, it is based on personal feelings (emotional). If it is objective, it is based on facts (evidence) (Anderson, 2014;McGregor, 2018; "Subjective vs objective," 2019) [10,15,16]. In Nicolescuian transdisciplinarity, Reality exists in both the internal (TD-Subject) and external (TD-Object) world of humans and any movement between them requires lubrication via the Hidden Third (Nicolescu, 2002) [2] (see Figure 1).…”