THE NEED FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION Istanbul, May 28, 2011

1. THE NEED FOR TRANSDISCIPLINARITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION Istanbul, May 28, 2011 Basarab NICOLESCU CNRS, Paris, France University Babes-Bolyai, Cluj, Romania Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies (STIAS), South Africa

2. Knowledge in the era of globalization

3. Transdisciplinary approach – realistic and even necessary for survival of universities Crucial condition: what is reality? Wolfgang Pauli: «  the formulation of a new idea of reality is the most important and most difficult task od our time. »

4. REALITY IS PLASTIC • The only ground of Reality : the ordered overall movement • We are part of this ordered movement: in this sense, Reality depends on us – THE REALITY IS PLASTIC

5. OUR RESPONSIBILITY • Our freedom: enter into the movement or perturb it. • Respond to the movement or impose our will of power and domination. • Our responsibility: built sustainable futures in agreement with the overall movement.

6. WHY TRANSDISCIPLINARITY IS TODAY NOT ONLY REALISTIC BUT ALSO NECESSARY?

7. 1st reason: unprecedented increase of knowledge Number of disciplines 1300: 7 1950: 54 1975: 1845 2011: > 8000 National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel, National Science Foundation (NSF) archives, USA

8. 2011: > 8000 disciplines EXPERT – 1 discipline IGNORANT - > 7999 disciplines How can we take a realistic decision?

9. 2ndreason Fast changes UNEMPLOYMENT Change jobs once or even several times during human beings’ lifetime

10. 3rd reason Advances in neurophysiology Decisions in complex situations – dominated by Emotions and feelings Analytic mind too slow as compared with intelligence of feelings Harmony between inner being and outer knowledge

11. 4th reason Globalization Enormous flux of population – from countries of one culture, religion, spirituality to another culture, religion, spirituality New education – cultivate the dialogue

12. 5th reason Rapid advances in means of communication Increased complexity in an interconnected world The new education has to invent new methods of teaching – new logics

13. 6th reason Globalization Real world solvingproblemsforces university to interact with society, industry, banks, ecology, which are obviously « trans » - they are beyondacademicdisciplinaes. Universitycanbecome a major force in building sustainable futures.

14. MULTIDISCIPLINARITY: studying a research topic not in just one discipline but in several at the same time INTERDISCIPLINARITY: transfering of methods from one discipline to another TRANSDISCIPLINARITY: studying that which is at once between the disciplines, across the different disciplines, and beyond all disciplines

15. Goal :understanding the present world UNDERSTANDING = KNOWLEDGE+BEING Finality :unity of knowledge No opposition between disciplinarity and transdisciplinarity: TD is not indisciplinarity TD  study of the interaction of Object and Subject  new knowledge

16. « Transdisciplinarity »  word introduced in 1970 by Jean Piaget

18. METHODOLOGY OF TRANSDISCIPLINARITY 3 axioms The ontological axiom The logical axiom The epistemological axiom Rigourous definition of TD

19. THE ONTOLOGICAL AXIOM OF TRANSDISCIPLINARITY There are different levels of Reality of the Object and, correspondingly, different levels of Reality of the Subject

20. REALITY That which resists • ourexperiences • our representations • our descriptions • our images • our mathematical formulations

21. REALITY that which resists - accessible to our knowledge + trans-subjective dimension REAL that which is - veiled for ever

22. LEVEL OF REALITY Set of systems invariant under certain general laws (natural systems) or under certain general norms and rules (social systems) There is discontinuity between levels

24. Levels of Reality of the Object + Zone of non-resistance Restores the continuity between levels

25. Levels of Reality of the Subject + Zone of non-resistance

26. Knowledge is nether exterior nor interior HIDDEN THIRD

27. Examples • Social systems: • individual level • geographical and historical community level • (family, nation) • cyber-space-time community level • the planetary level • Natural systems: • quantum level • macrophysical • (classical) level • cyber-space-time level • superstring level

28. THE LOGICAL AXIOM The passage from one level of Reality to another is insured by the logic of the included middle

29. T There exists a third term NR1 T NR2 which is at the same time A Non-A A Non-A Symbolic representation of the action of included middle logic Included middle

30. THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL AXIOM The structure of the totality of levels of reality and perception is a complex structure: Every level is what it is because all the levels exist at the same time

31. TRANS-REALITY • Levels of Reality of the Object • Levels of Reality of the Subject • The Hidden Third • organization • structuring • integration • objectivity • subjectivity • complexity • confusion • language • representation/ • interpretation • knowledge • understanding • being Levels of Contextualization • materiality • spirituality • non-duality • ignorance • intelligence • contemplation

32. A new Principle of Relativity • No level of Reality constitutes a priviledged place fromwhich one is able to understand all the otherlevels of Reality • Everylevel - incompletness • Knowledgeisforever open

33. TRANS-REALITY TD SUBJECT A3 non-A3 Planetary Cosmic A3 non-A3 Economic Social Historical T2 T2 A2 non-A2 TD OBJECT HIDDEN THIRD Political T3 T3 X A2 non-A2 Individual Environment (natural and artificial: Quantum Macrophysical Cyber-Space-Time A1 non-A1 A1 non-A1 Religions Spiritualities Cultures

34. CONCLUSIONS

35. The exceptional role of emotions and feelings in education • Integral education of the human being – mind, feelings, body • PhD programs in TD (Romania, South Africa) • TD curricula • Emergence of continually connected beings • Transcultural vision • New TD knowledge – multidimensional opening – civil society, cybers-space-time, universality, values

36. Wolfgang Pauli (1900-1958) • Facing the rigurous division, from the 17th century, of human spirit in isolated disciplines, I consider the aim of transgressing their opposition […] as the explicit myth of our present times”

37. MINIMAL BIBLIOGRAPHY • Basarab Nicolescu, Manifesto of Transdisciplinarity, New York, SUNY Press, 2002 • Basarab Nicolescu (ed.), Transdisciplinarity – Theory and practice, Hampton Press, Cresskill, New Jersey, USA, 2008 • Antonio R. Damasio, Looking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain, San Diego, Harcourt, 2003. • Internet site of the International Center for Transdisciplinary Research(CIRET) http://basarab.nicolescu.perso.sfr.fr/ciret/