Jan Cornelius Schmidt’s Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity offers a systematic account of interdisciplinarity as both a philosophical problem and a practical necessity in addressing complex societal and environmental challenges. Drawing on epistemology, systems theory, and the philosophy of technoscience, Schmidt positions interdisciplinarity not merely as cooperation between disciplines but as a condition that transforms how knowledge is produced, legitimised, and used. He examines how different epistemic cultures—particularly those of the natural sciences and social sciences—operate within distinct logics of validation and how their intersections generate both productive tensions and structural asymmetries.
For academic and artistic research in the arts and humanities, Schmidt’s framework invites critical reflection on how interdisciplinary discourse often privileges scientific models of rigour, innovation, and applicability. It raises questions about how other forms of knowledge—interpretive, affective, or embodied—might engage with or resist these frameworks.
(Series in the Philosophy and History of Technosciences)
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How can technoscientific approaches be combined with aesthetic or interpretive methods in your own research to create richer insights?
(Can you think of a project where these perspectives complemented each other?)
What practical strategies could arts and humanities collaborations bring to interdisciplinary projects to expand how knowledge is produced and shared?
(For example, could narrative or performance methods open new ways of understanding complex problems?)
If interdisciplinarity is seen as a shared philosophical commitment, what unique concepts or practices from your field could help shape the direction of joint research?
(How might these contributions influence the framing of questions or interpretation of results?)
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