Would take these words by common sense:

"multidisciplinary" means concerning more than one (=multi) disciplines,

"interdisciplinary" means concerning between disciplines without fixed amounts,

"transdisciplinarity" means going out of borders into an other discipline,

"universality" means valid all over the world and

"consilience" is the desired goal of every new defined terms in science.

Don't  think complex - think simple to solve complexity!

Exploring complexity is really fascinating, particularly from the engineering point of view. Transdisciplinarity has not been embedded in our background, but I guess that it is more related to a naturally evolving process of personal growth to understand complex systems and find answers.  I am becoming very involved in understanding and modelling sustainable industrial systems. Dealing with transdisciplinarity is difficult because we don't know how to face it. Any suggestion?. Could the centres of complexity be helpful in this matter?.

Dear Mohammed and Carmen,

Thanks for sharing about your interest in complexity science. Do agree with Mohamed that the Santa Fe Institute is the place to start.Since most of the luminaries in the field have at some point found inspiration in the research project undertaken there. Also would recommend the Stockholm Resilience Centre for its promotion of transdisciplinary research (link provided).

Best Regards,

Bernard

http://www.stockholmresilience.org

Many thanks Shian!. I hope to have the opportunity to visit these centres.

Best, Carmen

Hi Shian-Loong,

This is what Erik Andersson at the Stockholm Resilience Centre includes in his short biography to describe his field of work:

"Though an ecologist by training and inclination, Erik has worked across disciplines to seek the answers to real world problems and needs."  

So, it looks like the answer to your question ("Is "multidisciplinary" and "interdisciplinary" subsumed under "transdisciplinarity"?) is, 'yes and no'.

Gwen

If such a science of complexity really exists (namely, a set of theories on complexity universally accepted and applicable to all scientific fields) I would say it shall necessarily be founded upon multidisciplinarity (the need to holistically grasp complexity) and interdisciplinarity (the need to move across boundaries of knowledge). It's not yet clear to me, though, that much relevant practical work has been attempted to demonstrate the assertions above.

Would take these words by common sense:

"multidisciplinary" means concerning more than one (=multi) disciplines,

"interdisciplinary" means concerning between disciplines without fixed amounts,

"transdisciplinarity" means going out of borders into an other discipline,

"universality" means valid all over the world and

"consilience" is the desired goal of every new defined terms in science.

Don't  think complex - think simple to solve complexity!

Multidisciplinary ~ bringing more than one discipline together for research etc; each discipline uses its own methodologies

Interdisciplinary ~ working between disciplines, with an agreed methodology from one or more discipline.

Trans-disciplinary ~ working beyond disciplinary boundaries with objects studied in relative time modes; using geospatial intelligence systems or intractible mathematics ...ie spatial object is fixed/constant... time is relative.. This means linear causality methods are strictly invalid..

All three methods are possible for complex adaptive systems research... however; only trans-disciplinary R&D with relative time modes is truly complex open systems research... the disciplinary models are limited by their fixed time linearity

To understand the term transdisciplinarity, we must refer to the work of Basarab Nicolescu. Voir http://ciret-transdisciplinarity.org/bulletin/b15c4.php

Look The International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET) is a non-profit organization, located in Paris and founded in 1987. The aim of our organization is to develop research in a new scientific and cultural approach - the transdisciplinarity - whose aim is to lay bare the nature and characteristics of the flow of information circulating between the various branches of knowledge. http://ciret-transdisciplinarity.org/index_en.php

For the term of "complexity" should look at Edgar.Morin http://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Advances-Systems-Theory-Sciences/dp/1572738014/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457960743&sr=8-1&keywords=edgar+morin

With those information you'll understand that : transdisciplinarity is a methodology/epistemology itself.

http://ciret-transdisciplinarity.org/bulletin/b15c4.php

Multidisciplinarity I think!

In scientific realms, the science of complexity has two paths ~ each with uniquely defining methods and objectives... multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary methods have foundations in chosen disciplines, however; transdisciplinary means just that ~ there is no disciplinary basis ~ instead the scientific foundation is geospatial imagery with symbolic logic rather than alpha-numeric information.

In closed system situations, linear logic may be applied: time is assumed to be constant. Closed complex physical systems may be analyzed using linear alpha-numeric logic and statistical sciences ~ as in complex systems analysis for dynamic industrial systems.

In complex open system situations, like ecosystems, overlapping communities and spatial sets, spatial discontinuities with variable time lags, and stepped threshold feedback triggers, requires circular logic and accurate geospatial referencing: by this approach time is variable and space becomes the fixed constant. The scientific methods applicable in complex open system situations are combinations of intractable mathematics with geospatial intelligence systems employing true 3D imagery ~ as in complex systems prognoses in watershed ecology and modern medicine using imaging systems. 

All three approaches to complex systems research are commonly found in different professional research fields. Engineers and other closed system scientists prefer the  interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary alpha-numeric methods. Resource ecologists, medical specialists and other complex open system scientists have been using the trans-disciplinary geospatial methodologies for researching complex systems since the 1970's.

Complexity deals with the dynamic interplay of single elements.

In terms of scientific research, it is not trans, inter or multi.

The methodical key of complexity science is human meta-cognition (helicopter view); complexity research is meta-science, dealing with the laws of natural and human systems evolution. In my field of research, it would be a natural science of human society or science of men, which is in embryonic state.