Theme:
2. Archaeological Sciences, Humanities and the Digital era: Bridging the Gaps
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Embracing Transdisciplinarity: Multiple Ways of Seeing the Past through Different Ontologies
Content:
As researchers of histories of the past, we need ontologies and theoretical frameworks to situate our interpretations. However, these very same ontologies (sometimes viewed as scientific paradigms) also serve as conceptual traps that exclude certain parts of the world from consideration.
Thus, it may be suggested that the past is too complex to be comprehended by (and compressed into) a single ontology/paradigm. We need both cartesian and non-cartesian, binary and non-binary, empirical and interpretative thinking, because all are vital ingredients in past (and present) societies and their wider environmental entanglements. This raises some follow up questions:
1. How should we do this? Can we really reconcile different ontologies, which of course also represent different world views?
2. More mundanely, are we slaves of our terminologies and concepts? All terminologies (from classification to theoretical models) empower and imprison thinking. Their scientific ‘raison d’être’ is to bring order into chaos to allow comparison and analysis.
3. Does this prevent an integration of the different mindsets? Can our different analytical frameworks be brought into dialogue, given their divergent initial assumptions without violating their meaning?
4. Is it more productive to consider different ontologies as bringing different worldviews to interpretation that need not become integrated?
5. How do we then create an interpretative, transdisciplinary dialogue?
Keywords:
transdisicplinarity, ontologies, paradigm
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
Kristian Kristiansen (Denmark) 1
Co-organisers:
Catherine Frieman (Australia) 2
Affiliations:
1. University of Gothenbrug and Copenhagen
2. Australian National University
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