Blind Spots of Interdisciplinary Collaboration - Monetising Biodiversity: Before Calculating the Value of Nature, Reflect on the Nature of Value

Abstract

Defining, assessing and valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services is an exemplary field, illustrating the necessity as well as the obstacles to interdisciplinary collaboration between natural scientists and economists. Despite the frequent use of identical individual motivations and similarities in the terminology, the discrepancies and misunderstandings run deep. A main reason for the lack of reflection regarding the disciplinary and partly incommensurable world views, their ontologies, epistemologies, anthropologies and in particular their specific axiologies. While considered self-evident in their own disciplines, the lack of awareness regarding these basics hampers cooperation between disciplines. The challenges involved may be one reason why the readiness to participate in interdisciplinary research is actually decreasing amongst mainstream economists. In particular axiology (philosophy of values) is causing problems: at a closer look, there is a diversity of legitimate value systems, within which economic valuation is an important but limited niche. Recognising this implies acknowledging the limitations to economic valuation, and to economic statements more generally. Epistemological discrepancies show up in diverging interpretations of the same terminology. Interdisciplinarity requires rethinking of basic disciplinary assumptions in all participating disciplines, to generate results which are not based on assumptions in contradiction to secured insights of other disciplines in charge of the issue in question—otherwise integration of results is not possible. This is the basic law of interdisciplinarity, and it requires significant changes in academic education.