The Fundamental Cognitive Destiny of Interdisciplinarity

Abstract

My purpose is to listen to what is sought to be said in the word interdisciplinarity, to carefully hear what “with” it, and “through” it, is trying to be thought out. My hypothesis is that interdisciplinarity constitutes the visible manifestation of three main determinations of great relevance for the understanding of our science and our time: 1) the opposition to a science becoming more and more fragmented and specialized; 2) the procedural approach to a more and more complex level of reality; 3) the refusal to lose the sense of unity and, at the same time, the experimentation of new forms to reach unity, in a more plural way. I will start by trying to hear the word itself, its birth, parentage, competitors, contexts of use and definition requirements (Part I). Afterwards, I will present and discuss those three main determinations, both in their past directions as in their current movements and future challenges (Part II).