Transdisciplinary Research and the Gift Economy

Teresa Henkle Langness

The notions of education and research, viewed through a transdisciplinary lens, emphasize collective knowledge creation and application across disciplinary boundaries. This approach mirrors gift economies, systems in which goods, services, or knowledge are exchanged without a formal expectation of direct repayment, emphasizing mutual support, generosity, and the strengthening of social bonds over competition or profit. In this context, research collaborators value a sense of shared purpose, fostering collaboration over competition to enhance group innovation and intellectual well-being.

Analogous to natural symbiotic systems, interdisciplinary communication and gift economies promote integration, collective self-actualization, and creative problem-solving. Similarly to interdisciplinary communication, gift economies also foster metacognition by encouraging reflection on the value of mutual exchange, empathy, and interconnectedness. Participants consider the impact of their contributions on others, deepening self-awareness and understanding of collaborative dynamics. This interchange, in turn, enhances learning and problem-solving skills.

This paper takes inspiration from the concept of gift economies, such as those adopted by indigenous societies and embedded in many natural systems. For example, food cooperatives and symbiotic plant networks illustrate relationships in which the motivation to produce springs not from a survival of the fittest mentality but from the theory that sharing itself has intrinsic value and supports group well-being. When applied to transdisciplinary education and research, the gift economy posits the idea that the whole of our collective knowledge exceeds the value of the sum of its isolated parts.

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