1. Introduction – Problems of terminology The words “reduction” and “reductionism” are extremely ambiguous. Different authors use different meanings and definitions and therefore extremely unproductive polemics could be generated. For example, philosophers understand by “reduction” replacing one theory by a newer more encompassing theory, while scientists understand by the same word exactly the opposite operation….
The war of definitions How transdisciplinarity was born Transdisciplinarity is a relatively young approach: it emerged seven centuries later than disciplinarity, due to the Swiss philosopher and psychologist Jean Piaget (1896-1980). The word itself first appeared in France, in 1970, in the talks of Jean Piaget, Erich Jantsch and André Lichnerowicz, at the international workshop…
Introduction Time has passed since 1959 when C. P. Snow formulated the concept of two cultures – scientific and humanist culture – perceived as antagonists [1]. The marriage between fundamental science and technology is now accomplished, generating the technoscientific culture which drives the huge irrational force of globalization, centered on the economy, which in turn…