Conceptual Foundations for Multidisciplinary Thinking

Stephen Jay Kline

ISBN 10: 0804724091 / ISBN 13: 9780804724098

Published by Stanford University Press Jan 1995, 1995

About this Item

Neuware - Our current intellectual system provides us with a far more complete and accurate understanding of nature and ourselves than was available in any previous society. This gain in understanding has arisen from two sources: the use of the 'scientific method', and the breaking up of our intellectual enterprise into increasingly narrower disciplines and research programs. However, we have failed to keep these narrow specialities connected to the intellectual enterprise as a whole. The author demonstrates that this causes a number of difficulties. We have no viewpoint from which we can understand the relationships between the disciplines and lack a forum for adjudicating situations where different disciplines give conflicting answers to the same problem. We seriously underestimate the differences in methodology and in the nature of principles in the various branches of science. This provocative and wide-ranging book provides a detailed analysis and possible solutions for dealing with this problem.

Seller Inventory # 9780804724098

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Conceptual Foundations for Multidisciplinary Thinking
• Publisher: Stanford University Press Jan 1995
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804724091
• ISBN 13: 9780804724098
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 237W x 159H x 27D millimeters 237 millimeters width by 159 millimeters height by 27 millimeters depth
• Weight: 667 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Our current intellectual system provides us with a far more complete and accurate understanding of nature and ourselves than was available in any previous society. This gain in understanding has arisen from two sources: the use of the 'scientific method', and the breaking up of our intellectual enterprise into increasingly narrower disciplines and research programs. However, we have failed to keep these narrow specialities connected to the intellectual enterprise as a whole. The author demonstrates that this causes a number of difficulties. We have no viewpoint from which we can understand the relationships between the disciplines and lack a forum for adjudicating situations where different disciplines give conflicting answers to the same problem. We seriously underestimate the differences in methodology and in the nature of principles in the various branches of science. This provocative and wide-ranging book provides a detailed analysis and possible solutions for dealing with this problem.

About the Author

Stephen Jay Kline is Professor Emeritus of Science, Technology, and Values and of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University.