NEARLY 400 years have passed since René Descartes revolutionised the understanding of human thinking and action. The effects of his statement, "I think, therefore I am", transformed discourse on human consciousness and our interactions with science, technology, nature, innovation and identity.
Before the Cartesian revolution, humanity was arguably content to live within a narrow religious authority. Descartes contemplated the power of the human mind to rule over its destiny. It can be argued that he helped inform impressive developments in the evolution of human society: 19th-century industrialisation, locomotive transport, longer life expectancy, medicines to curb epidemics, and the worldwide web.
Yet, along with such developments, there grew a tendency for knowledge to become a preserve of specialists and experts. What was lost in creating academic disciplines were other ways of knowing, such as lifelong experience, wisdom, and values gained from practice.
Because the Cartesian revolution mainly emphasised a logical or scientific way of reasoning, crises have accompanied this one-dimensional way of thinking, which over the years has become increasingly bereft of values. For instance, the 20th century witnessed two world wars, unmatched devastation of the biosphere, the extinction of animal and plant species, and terrorism as an outcome of, and cause for, new forms of imperialism.
In the context of the deep-seated crises we are already facing in the 21st century, progressive voices are asking about alternative ways to facilitate knowledge and wisdom that encourage, for one, unity in inquiry and unity of solutions. But is this feasible in a context of ever-changing technology, competing material demands, consumption pressures among countries and the finite natural resources available? Is it possible to abandon education models and knowledge systems, which have become almost indispensable to our daily life and human civilisations? And if so, what can we replace or supplement them with that will not necessarily disorganise how we work, what we eat, where we socialise, when we procreate and who we associate with?
We have arrived at a turning point as a human species. We can choose to pursue the road we have relied on so far, based on the supremacy of science without factoring in ethics or values. Alternatively, we can supplement what we know with approaches centred on joint problem-solving; recognise the limitations of rationality; advance what Rabbi Jonathan Sacks terms "collective remoralisation"; acknowledge reality as multilayered; and promote holistic know-how.
We have arrived in an age termed the Anthropocene — when our production and consumption levels threaten the survival of earth due to climatic degradation. The irony of this is significant in that humanity possesses the means and knowledge to reverse the slide into environmental apocalypse. The fact is that decisions made now and not acted upon will affect future generations in an irreversible way. The cumulative effects of the eurozone crises are global. What is apparently lacking is the political and economic will grounded on selflessness, multipolarity, dialogue and shared truths.
Inaction is not an option, as Nouriel Roubini said in article titled Is Capitalism Doomed?, as it will precipitate "unending stagnation, depression, currency and trade wars, capital controls, financial crisis, sovereign insolvencies, and huge social and political instability".
The transdisciplinary approach affords academics and researchers the platform to tackle complex human problems together, from the vantage point of different disciplines. A Mapungubwe Institute (Mistra) research project includes an examination of the theoretical and historical roots of transdisciplinarity, and the application of this approach in a few universities that have adopted a transdisciplinarity curriculum that appreciates integration of knowledge, nonacademic wisdom and fluid complexity.
Needless to say, due recognition of the Cartesian revolution needs to be accepted. However, its accompanying problems also need to be understood. It is not an exaggeration to say the 2008 global downturn, the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and last year’s Marikana massacre all remind us that "I think, therefore I am" has to be balanced with, in the words of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu: "I am human because I belong."
• Sehume is a researcher at Mistra, which will release the results of its transdisciplinarity project on June 26.
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