Philosophical reflections: A coda

Abstract

In this short final chapter I seek several interrelated things and, in doing so, turn to an ancient philosophy for inspiration. I have chosen Aristotle (All quotations from Aristotelian works are taken for his Collective Works, edited by J. Barnes, and references are made using Bekker numbers and abbreviations of the books. These are: EN – Nicomachean Ethics; Met – Metaphysics; Phy – Physic; and Top –Topics.), notwithstanding his views on gender, human rights and democracy, to re-examine his influence on the development of disciplines and the limitations that these powerful structures exert on current transdisciplinary collaborative thinking. I look at his work again and suggest that he was a transdisciplinary thinker who embraces many forms of knowledge and meaning-making, and who accepts the social constructivism of truth and how it might be used. Above all, he locates knowledge alongside collaborative communities of the polis, in the situated-ness of the community with a purpose of action. My second reason for selecting Aristotle is that I find resonance with much of what he says in the chapters of this volume. So, this chapter is an effort to use Aristotle as the weft threads for a transdisciplinary pattern of knowledge, and to weave its promotion by using the contributions of this volume’s authors as the warp. I hope that I have not mispresented these excellent contributions, for I have not attempted to summarize their work, but only to pluck the themes that echo my prejudice.