(4) The Language of Discipline-Independent-Transdisciplinarity

A Common Language for the Disciplines

Vincent Vesterby

Conference theme: Concepts and Methods

A Common Language for the Disciplines

The basis of a transdisciplinary language has been recognized to be already present throughout the subject matters of all the disciplines.

The general-factors, (the isomorphic patterns-of-organization),• that constitute material-reality,• that constitute the hierarchic organization of material-

reality, • that thus permeate the subject matters of all the

disciplines of science and the humanities, • that provide the basis of discipline-independent-

transdisciplinarity, also provide the basis of the language of transdisciplinarity.

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The Semantics and Syntax of Transdisciplinarity ...1

The names of the general-factors are the words of the language.

Thus, the general-factors, (the isomorphic patterns-of-organization playing roles in the situations in which they exist), are the reality-referents of the words—the meanings of the words.

The semantics of the language of transdisciplinarity is based on the correspondence between the terms and concepts within the mind and their reality-referents—their literal physical meanings.

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The Semantics and Syntax of Transdisciplinarity ...2

Structural-logic determines the kinds of relations between general-factors—from distance and direction, to before and after, to causal, to systemic, and all other relations.

Structural-logic also determines the sequential-difference between those relations, the order of their occurrence in space and time, in structure and in process.

The sequential-difference that occurs in the relations between general-factors constitutes the syntax of the transdisciplinary language.

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Where Does the Language Come From? ...1

A. From what we already have.

B. From creating and using the methodology.

C. From spreading-out-the-development of a known situation.

D. From applying the methodology to an unknown situation.

E. From the creative process of emergence.

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Where Does the Language Come From? ...2

A. Why do we already have part of this transdisciplinary language?•Because scholars and researchers have for centuries been investigating the world, and have identified and named many factors that play roles in diverse situations.

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SpiralTipping-pointThresholdThroughflowChain reactionCascadeArchetype

PrecursorTemplateEmergenceFeedbackSelf-organizationSystemAdaptation

ResilienceStructural-logicComplexityOrientationRobustnessCoherenceIsomorphy

Transdisciplinary Language

Where Does the Language Come From? ...3

B. Why does the language emerge from creating and using the methodology?

First, because new general-factors are constantly discovered—and the names given to those new general-factors become new words in the language.

Second, because there is constant improvement in the understanding of structural-logic—and thus constant improvement in understanding the syntax of the language.

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Where Does the Language Come From? ...4

C. Why does the language result from spreading-out-the-development of a known situation?

•Because this method of exploration and analysis goes deep, exposing the roles of structural-logic, and in the process, revealing many general-factors and minor stages of the development that were not previously known to be present in the situation.

•It is common, when spreading-out-the-development, to find general-factors and relations of structural-logic that had not been identified prior to applying this method.

•Naming and understanding these newly identified general-factors and relations adds new words to the language and new syntactical understanding.

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Where Does the Language Come From?...5

D. Why does the language emerge when applying the methodology to an unknown situation?

•Initially the unknown situation is viewed by way of known general-factors, but further application of the prime-imperative (looking at the subject of investigation itself), reveals new general-factors, the names of which become new words in the language.

•Just as with spreading-out-the-development, the process of using general-factors for the qualitative analysis of an unknown situation reveals the manner in which structural-logic determines the relations within the situation.

•It often happens that new structural-logic relations, and thus new syntax relations of the language, are discovered.

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Where Does the Language Come From? ...6

E. Why is the process of emergence a factor in the origin of the language of transdisciplinarity?

Any motion that occurs within a situation under investigation will initiate the emergence of new pattern-of-organization.

• Any such newly occurring pattern that is seen to play a significant role in the situation, and that has not previously been labeled, will be given a name.

New types of patterns-of-organization come into existence when the process of emergence creates a new level of the hierarchic-organization of material-reality.

• Some of these emergent patterns will be recognized as general-factors, and those that have not been previously labeled will be named and added to the language.

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Naming General-Factors

The nature of the name must tell the transdisciplinarian something.

 

The name should point toward the reality-referent of the name, to the specific general-factor to which it refers.

The name, then, should be derived from some intrinsic quality of the general-factor.

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General-Factor Names Derived from Their Descriptive-Definitions ...1

In alignment with the transdisciplinarian goals of accuracy and practical utility, the names given to general-factors should be descriptive in nature.

A descriptive-definition is created for each general-factor based entirely on the intrinsic qualities of the general-factor.

The foundational form of each general-factor is given a name that is derived from the content of its descriptive-definition.

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General-Factor Names Derived from Their Descriptive-Definitions ...2

Descriptive-defining follows the prime-imperative of the accurate analysis of the intrinsic nature of reality. •Look to reality itself. •Let the nature of reality dictate the nature of the understanding of reality. •Let the nature of what is being defined dictate the content of its description and the manner in which it is differentiated from other things.

A term and its definition then serve as arrows directing the mind to the reality-referent of the term.

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An Example Series of Descriptively Defined Terms ...1

This is a developmentally related sequence of terms.

The sequence goes from terms with more general reality-referents to terms with more specific reality-referents.

Development—everything that exists takes part in one way or another in a universally omnipresent transition, a sequential-difference from one time, place, part, pattern, level, condition, or situation to another.

Existential-pathway-development—The development that occurs along specific sequences of existentially continuous difference in extension, change, or simultaneously in extension and change.Vincent Vesterby 14Transdisciplinary Language

An Example Series of Descriptively Defined Terms ...2

Extensional-existential-pathway-development—Development that occurs along specific sequences of existentially continuous difference in extension, involving greater quantity of sequential-difference with greater quantity of extension.

Topographic-existential-pathway-development—The sequence of the topography, the relief features or surface configuration that occurs with the extensional-existential-pathway-development of a surface.

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An Example Series of Descriptively Defined Terms ...3

Topographic-slope-existential-pathway-development—The slope from the highest part of a surface to the lowest part, which is an intrinsic 3-dimentional quality of all irregular surfaces.

Topographic-route-existential-pathway-development—A specific, more or less linear route on a surface, for example, a groove on the surface of an object, as the threads on a bolt, or a path, road, river channel, or the way taken by a person hiking cross-country through a landscape.

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An Example Series of Descriptively Defined Terms ...4

Topographic-process-existential-pathway-development—The existential-pathway-development of a process as it occurs in and is influenced by a topographic situation, such as the existential-pathway-development of a landslide, or of a river from its headwaters region to where it ends.

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Communicating with Descriptively Defined Terms

It is important to remember that a transdisciplinarian thinks in the mode of pictures and patterns-of-organization.

Thus, when transdisciplinarians are working with the pictorial universal-conceptual-model and the structural-logic relations therein, they are working visually.

The language is used later to describe and communicate the results of that work.

In this way the language of transdisciplinarity is used for precision of description and communication, where the terms direct the mind to their reality-referents.

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Visualizing the Descriptively Defined Terms

When using the universal-conceptual-model that exists in the transdisciplinarian's mind, the reality-referents are represented pictorially, rather than linguistically by their names.

The terms lead to visualization of the reality-referents.

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The general-factor names in the list above were listed developmentally, from broad to progressively more specific, leading the mind to think developmentally in terms of the organization of the structure and processes of their reality-referents.

This then builds a dynamic visual conceptual-model of how the system is structured and functions.

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The Language EnhancesThinking Developmentally ...2

The organization of discipline-independent-transdisciplinary-understanding is determined by development, the universal-general-factor that gives order to all general-factors. The developmental sequence of these terms and their individual developmental meanings, as indicated by the words within them, help direct the mind to the developmental nature of the reality-referents of these terms.

Thinking developmentally becomes a habit of mind.

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The Language of Discipline-Independent-Transdisciplinarity

Describing observed factors and situations generates understanding, makes gaps in understanding obvious, and enables the mind to exist within the situation, seeing its components and relations and how they interrelate with one another and their immediate environment.

If you can describe it, you understand it.

This is the fundamental utility of the descriptive aspect of this language.

Both developing and using the methodology of discipline-independent-transdisciplinarity results in the emergence of this universal language that provides effective communication through breadth and depth of accurate description.

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Vincent Vesterby http//:www.themoderngeneralist.com Thegeneralist@theModernGeneralist.com