LAW AND TRANSDISCIPLINARITY
Maria Francisca Carneiro, Postdoctorate in Philosophy, PhD in Law
[email protected] Maria Fernanda Loureiro, Master’s student in Law, postgraduate diploma in Public Law, Lawyer
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Considering that Law is transdisciplinary by nature, we propose a methodology for this type of investigation. KEY-WORDS Law, methodology, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity.
A TRANSDISCIPLINARY METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF LAW
We know that the relation between Law and other fields of knowledge, more than putting two or more disciplines together, weaves them together, so that they overlap in new fields of knowledge. This is why we understand that Law is not simply interdisciplinary, but transdisciplinary. This offers an appropriate methodology for its development, which is what we will suggest in this section. We would like to highlight the consolidation over the last ten years of transdisciplinarity, and of complexity in the field of the methodical investigation of Law1, a tendency which has already been preached for a good while, and which in effect has been brought to a conclusion. Transdisciplinarity and complexity, in juridical research, rather than being just a consequence of the transformations of society and science, signify a change of method. The transdisciplinary focus and complex thought imply a new facet of the themes, therefore called “transversal”, along restructured axes of knowledge. For this, it is first necessary to reach an agreement about this restructuring of themes, which it is up to each scholar to carry out in line with the understanding of their research supervisor. The themes termed “transversal” delimit different fields of observation, capable of permitting suitable evaluation, as well as the satisfactory description of the concepts and elements which constitute it. However, in the face of such complexity, it is 1
CARNEIRO, M. F. Pesquisa jurídica na complexidade e transdisciplinaridade – Temas transversais, interfaces, glossário. 2nd. Ed., Curitiba, Juruá, 2009.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1865907
necessary to integrate the transversal themes, in which the parts relate to one another and to the whole, as in an open web. There is no possibility of working with closed systems, applying transdisciplinarity and complexity to the method of Law.
This process requires the updating and constant revision of the knowledge acquired by the researcher. One of the most common faults is that, in attempting to achieve thematic transversality – and, as a consequence, complexity and transdisciplinarity in Law – there is a lack of in-depth study or, if this is done, it tends to be isolated from the restructured axes of knowledge. Deepening knowledge and, at the same time, making it transdisciplinary, is also a question of method and not just systematization, as the organization of ideas. For this it is necessary to take into account the way in which interfaces occur between the themes, which we will call transversal.
The transversal themes delimit different fields of observation. They thus require the idea of open systems, in which the interfaces fulfil the relevant function. Transversal themes, interconnected with longitudinal ones (or traditional disciplines) are better able to avoid vagueness and imprecision, common characteristics of transdisciplinary research. It should be noted that we are dealing with imaginative functions in the demarcation of knowledge, so that the transdisciplinary step can operate, and in order to obtain a broader potential for interaction between the disciplines. The interfaces in transdisciplinarity must make transitions without fragmenting knowledge, as well as having the cognitive function of facilitating understanding. Interfaces are a semantic relationship which intermediates meanings. It is a mental representation. Interfaces are what lies between structures. However, there are criticisms of transdisciplinarity, such as, for example, that it generates superficial knowledge as, in going deeper, the researcher specializes and thus returns to traditional disciplines. Another common criticism of transdisciplinarity is the imprecision of the conclusion which, in the majority of cases, tends to be poly-, multior inter-disciplinary. We know that transdisciplinarity and complexity are the consequences of each other. Now societies, being complex, require transdisciplinary research, hence its importance for Law and Literature, since this relationship emanates from society and refers back to it. For this reason, it is our duty to consider transdisciplinary research and its problems. We stress the need for an integrating axis of transdisciplinary knowledge for Law and Literature, which can be an axis of diffusion, uni-, bi- or multi-directional. In short, transdisciplinary research in Law and Literature is always an open work and, as such can be understood not just as science, but also as a work of art.
With thanks to Professor Michael A. Watkins for translating this article from Portuguese into English.
Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1865907
5 REFERENCE CARNEIRO, M. F. Pesquisa jurídica na complexidade e transdisciplinaridade – Temas transversais, interfaces, glossário. 2nd. Ed., Curitiba, Juruá, 2009.
