Multidisciplinarity is something natural, common and that happens with some frequency. For example, it is common for students to:
- Play sports, take math and science classes in elementary education.
- Or classes in physics, chemistry and literature in secondary education.
- And ethics, philosophy, mathematics and language in the preparatory or general cycles of higher education.
But this multidisciplinarity will not serve us much advantage, unless we connect the knowledge and values of these fields.
In some investigations or activities it is necessary to have experts from different subjects who form a working group. These teams are called multidisciplinary. The main characteristic of all of them is the following: combining knowledge and different methods to approach a subject that requires different perspectives. In this way, multidisciplinarity is the coordinated interaction of different areas of knowledge. Because of this, activities or programs require multidisciplinary work team.
Examples of multidisciplinarity:
In the world of cinema there are also all kinds of professionals who contribute their knowledge: director, actors, screenwriters, lighting and sound technicians, decorators, set designers, cameramen and a long list of technicians.
A soccer team has a coach and, at the same time, a series of professionals who contribute their knowledge and techniques, such as physiotherapists, physical trainers, doctors, nutritionists, etc.
The construction of a building needs professionals with very different academic backgrounds, such as architects, engineers, bricklayers, carpenters or builders.
According to the theorist of joint thinking, Edgar Morin multidisciplinary is a non-integrative mix of several disciplines in which each one retains its methods and assumptions. without change or development of other disciplines in the multidisciplinary relationship. Professionals involved in a multidisciplinary task adopt collaborative relationships with common goals.
In a multidisciplinary relationship, this cooperation "can be mutual and cumulative but not interactive." However, the interdisciplinarity on his part wants to unite several disciplines to be able to make exchanges among all and, in fact, Edgar Morín affirms that currently interdisciplinarity is being proposed because the needs of social life, the disciplines and their interrelation derive from development scientific and social, because not only is a team needed to carry out interdisciplinary work, but it is about having interventions from different professionals or fields of study on the case to be treated.
Therefore, it is to interact on a problem, in an exchange of disciplines with an openness to the knowledge and application of each science. Always having clear limits and respecting the knowledge of each of the sciences. Interdisciplinarity is good, it leads to, as required by society, not only having knowledge of the activities of our career or specialty.
