MULTIDISCIPLINARITY
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2219 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
- “A collective study by many specialized experts of a complex project or problem” (Ch. FRANÇOIS, 1986, p.114).
Ch. FRANÇOIS carefully distinguishes multidisciplinarity from interdisciplinarity, or transdisciplinarity.
He writes: “Multidisciplinarity reflects the ever growing need for collaboration among many disciplinary specialists for the management of complex systems. Unfortunately, most of the multidisciplinary meetings — especially those which must produce some critical decision on practical projects — are merely confuse and confusing caucuses. Long debates may lead only to deep and damaging misunderstandings, due to the lack of a common conceptual language and an integrated view of the system to be managed (ACKOFF's messes)” (Ibid).
Thus, while the multidisciplinary approach is obviously a practical necessity, it may at the same time be clearly insufficient and in dire need for a systemic transdisciplinary language.