The Technosphere and Earth Stewardship - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 267

Intellectual misalignment is the primary hurdle to effective interdisciplinary and
transdisciplinary collaboration, and although signifi cant strides have been taken in
actualizing effective collaboration, there are still barriers to be broached. We argue
that among the most serious of those divides for moving toward a more sustainable
world, is the misalignment between those who focus on social-ecological systems
and those who focus on infrastructural systems (within a SETS or other comprehen-
sive framework), and that secondarily there remain barriers between social and eco-
logical integration within a SES framework. A variety of factors contribute to the
differences in approaches common to each of these domains. These refl ect the fact
that each of us is trained in particular disciplines with their own set of rules and
priorities, but who sometime go on to gain additional perspectives from training or
collaborative experiences. Diffi culty in communication is probably the most funda-
mental barrier, and it may be based on different defi nitions for the same word or
concept, as well as familiarity with different literatures. A more complex barrier
derives from disciplinary differences in what constitutes acceptable knowledge.
That is, what are the acceptable methods for acquiring new knowledge, what
assumptions are the basis of inquiry, what dynamics are important for understand-
ing the operation of a system? All of these questions are implicitly (and sometimes
explicitly) answered by disciplinary training which defi nes appropriate domains of
study and objectives of research. We are not suggesting that all disciplinary training
can be discarded; disciplines exist for good reasons, and those that are most endur-
ing often have evolved to be quite effective at what they do!
Several approaches have been taken to address the barriers presented by interdis-
ciplinary collaboration (Miller et al. 2008 ). The most common recommendation is
to spend time together, and to learn as much as possible about the other's approach.
We agree that this advice should be taken and that it underlies much successful col-
laboration today. In a way, this chapter accepts this as a fi rst step, and attempts to lay
out what is needed to address the intellectual misalignment that continues to inhibit
those who do work together. In working together, one may fi nd elements common
to other approaches that can be jointly pursued and mutually valued. Tracing land
use histories for landscapes of mutual interest (and other place based approaches),
are very useful for both ecologists and social scientists (Redman and Foster 2008 ).
A common form of collaboration is when collaborators “compromise” their meth-
ods and objectives so that both approaches can be applied. However we do not fi nd
this form to be productive. Although it may lead to interesting results, the approach
is so “watered down” that it does not satisfy either party. Instead of compromise, we
suggest that each of the collaborating parties explore the logic and concepts of their
partners, as an effort to fi nd value in another approach. This effort to overcome
intellectual misalignment is not easy, yet we believe that it pays signifi cant divi-
dends. Our effort to layout this misalignment of logic and of concepts in each of the
three major domains, is not meant as a defi nitive analysis of each perspective, or
even of specifi c instances of their application, but rather, to stimulate discussion on
reducing barriers and moving forward on an integrated, comprehensive pathway
toward sustainability.