Transformative Transdisciplinarity

Abstract In the face of planetary crises, from biodiversity loss to climate change to food security, transdisciplinarity promises more effective and just responses through more equal collaborations. However, transdisciplinarity also creates complex challenges by bringing together different actors, from scientists to Indigenous communities to policymakers. Successful collaboration among such actors requires navigating different forms of knowledge, worldviews, values, and positions of power. Transformative Transdisciplinarity synthesizes insights from philosophy of science and empirical action research in addressing these challenges through a framework of partial overlaps. On the one hand, the framework highlights overlapping concerns and perspectives of actors that provide common ground for collaboration and mutual understanding. On the other hand, it emphasizes partialities that require navigating differences and tensions between actors. This book addresses the fundamental epistemological, ontological, and political questions of transdisciplinarity through this framework of partial overlaps, aiming for a transformative vision of collaborative science in the face of planetary crises. By addressing these foundational questions, Transformative Transdisciplinarity also develops a novel vision of community-based philosophy that engages with global challenges through collaborations with local communities and empirical researchers. In contrast with empirically disengaged armchair philosophy, this book shows how philosophers can play an important role in mediating between epistemologies and ontologies of diverse actors as well as the political inequalities between them.