Complexity, Multi-Disciplinarity, and Beyond (American University Studies)

Complexity, Multi-Disciplinarity, and Beyond addresses the issue of complexity mainly in the fields of humanities and social sciences. It is a continuation of Interdisciplinarity: Toward the Definition of a Metadiscipline? (Lang, 2001) in which the main question is related to the role of interdisciplinarity and disciplinarian thinking in confronting complexity in general. The present book focuses on complexity in the humanities but also revisits some of the ideas brought forth in Interdisciplinarity, concerning the limitations of disciplinarian thinking and interdisciplinarity in their confrontations with complexity. The development of conceptual tools, as well as theories and models for complexity outside the realm of «hard» sciences, is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, it is essential to learn to cope with complexity, and every effort in this area must be encouraged.