Transdisciplinarity in the problematic fi eld of social philosophy: “An exchange zone” vs “a socio-epistemic arena”

Abstract

Introduction. Transdisciplinarity as a fundamental characteristic of hybrid informal knowledge specific to a digital society can be explicated in the problematic field of social philosophy. Theoretical analysis. The main categorical explication of transdisciplinarity is the comparison of the concepts of an exchange zone and socio-epistemic arenas. The first is defined by the categorical series of the philosophy of science, the second is a socio-philosophical construct. A comparative analysis allows us to conclude that the exchange zones initially reflect the inter-institutional status of communication, dating back to P. Galison, and initially the leading role in it belongs to a humanitarian specialist who acts as a mediator. In socio-epistemic arenas, more importance is given to media and ordinary people, who coincide in a digital society with the widest possible range of users. A compromise position can be formulated when referring to the model of trans-epistemic cultures of K. Knorr-Cetina. Conclusion. Transdisciplinarity as a special digital zone producing trans-epistemic cultures has features of both an exchange zone and a socio-epistemic arena. Its hybrid characteristics are determined by the structure of a digital society in which institutional boundaries are permeable, horizontal interaction accompanies and strengthens vertical interaction, and networks are mechanisms for the distribution of knowledge by default.

Keywords

• transdisciplinarity
• social philosophy
• social philosophy of science
• sts
• socio-epistemic arenas
• exchange zones
• social communication