Astrobiology can be considered in a multidisciplinary manner as a discipline using multiple disciplines to enrich itself. The disciplines are usually thought to be epistemologically compatible (all within the natural sciences). Astrobiology can also be thought of under an interdisciplinary approach to facilitate communication between disciplines even beyond the natural sciences into the social sciences, and humanities. That reaching out process has also been carried out at NASA and SETI and recently at the Astrobiology Symposium at the Kluge Center in the Library of Congress. Now, in my view - as a way to facilitate communication among the disciplines - interdisciplinarity will naturally lead to Transdiscilinarity. it would be the next logical step in this progressive extension of astrobiology. In such a case astrobiology as a subject of study would transcend and include both the natural sciences and the social sciences and their epistemologies and methodologies under overarching integrative common patterns. But how can qualitatite and quantitative disciplines communicate under a shared integrating pattern? That is one of the major challenges arising in transdisciplinarity which promises to give us an overarching view of the unity of knowledge and to help us to collectively produce in the long run a less fragmented, more sensible, synergistic planetary social order. I do think that transdisciplinarity is a valid and necessary approach that has to be incorporated in our discussions because the discovery of any form of life beyond Earth would have an all-encompassing, long-term impact in cultures and societies challenging the domains of specific disciplines and their fragmentary, often excessively competing approach. Even the meaning of life itself and our species relation to it in relation to life in the Cosmos would quite likely meanuingfully change. If older cosmic civilizations exist (as they quite likely do) many would have probably developed a transdisciplinary approach that integrates qualitative and quantitative forms of experience and knowledge, so wed better have an inklin as to how this might be if we choose to communicate with them in order to relate more as intelligent equals. Overall, to further an approach that deals more effectively with the social impact of astrobiology, I recommend to start seeing into the concept of transdisciplinarity (that was first mentioned by Jean Piaget but has - due to cultural differences and seeming to be ahead of its time - unfortunately been too academically limited to European avant-garde philosophy). Nicolescu (one of the main founders of transdisciplinarity) gives an interesting brief lecture by who can be heard at this link: vimeo/11049541 Yours truly, Giorgio Piacenza
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 15:52:28 +0000
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