On the frontiers of knowledge: the enlargement of experience and the new forms of rationality

Abstract

The article discusses the panorama of knowledge today, focusing on the inflation of knowledge, the fragmentation of disciplines and the density loss of cognitive processes as well as the search for alternatives through multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary experiments. Other points emphasized: the emergence of the hyphenated disciplines (bio-chemistry, ethno-music, etc.); the approach of science, technology, art and philosophy; the end of the generalist and the specialist. The sense of the analyses is epistemological and the goal is to demonstrate, in contrast, two real approaches that define cognitive strategies in different fields of knowledge: the reductionist and the non-reductionist. The stress falls on the non-reductionist approaches, highlighting the following topics or aspects: the dilatation of the experience and the expansion of reason, the conquest of different levels of reality, new perspectives for the humanities and social sciences. Finally, after emphasizing the importance of discipline, its centrality anchor is placed in context, through the recognition of themes and issues as important challenges and opportunities acquis, enabling the advancement of knowledge.