TOK ESSAY

“The fields of study of academic disciplines can overlap, but adopting

interdisciplinary approaches to the production of knowledge leads only to
confusion”

Humans have had a constant desire to comprehend the world around them
and discover the theories and laws that govern it, and this desire for
knowledge has been a key driving factor for various disciplines which aim to
further human understanding. Disciplines themselves are in constant flux,
evolving with time as our knowledge increases and interacting with other
disciplines in complex ways. As we produce more knowledge the boundaries of
disciplines extend to accommodate this knowledge. Often the boundaries of
certain disciplines overlap, which refers to a common aspect or topic between
the disciplines. This overlap often causes disciplines to adopt an
interdisciplinary approach, which as proposed by Joe Moran is “any form of
dialogue or interaction between two or more disciplines” (Moran 16).

An interdisciplinary approach refers to using the knowledge and

methodologies of different disciplines in conjunction with each other to
produce more knowledge. Since different disciplines have different ways of
producing knowledge, there may be a conflict in the approach to be chosen as
well as the resulting knowledge that is produced using different methods can
lead to a confusion in interpretation, for the person consuming the knowledge
as well as those furthering that knowledge. However, interdisciplinary studies
have helped to explain certain concepts and have simplified others. Hence, I
disagree with the claim that an “interdisciplinary approach to the production
of knowledge leads only to confusion”. This prompts me to ask the question: to
what extent do interdisciplinary approaches overcome confusion?

In this essay I will be talking about Human Sciences and the Natural Sciences.
Human science is “it is the scientific study of human behavior and social
interaction.” (Rutherford, et al.) Whereas natural science is the study of the
physical world and it makes predictions based on empirical evidence. Although
these AOK’s explore different sectors of knowledge, an interdisciplinary
approach has often been adopted. An interdisciplinary approach between the
two is beneficial as it bridges the gap between the two, the knowledge that is
produced can help the natural sciences make more accurate predictions and
allow the human sciences to further understand human behavior. The
interdisciplinary “approach” refers to the way of applying the known
information across the involved disciplines and choosing the appropriate
methodology. The methodology of natural sciences could be used in human
sciences when humans are the object of the experiment. Econophysics does
that — it is an interdisciplinary research field, which uses methods and
theories made by physicists to solve problems in economics. Econophysicists
can recognize patterns in financial markets. They have discovered that the
probability of large market returns decreases in accordance with an inverse
cubic power law in several markets. This is more precise than the Bell curve
statistics earlier used by economists (Buchanan).
Econophysicists have also recognized other generic market patterns such as
the self-similar structure of market volatility. Also, since Economics and physics
both are objective in nature, they both use reason as a WOK to obtain
knowledge. In addition to this they share the common language of
mathematics: hence forming a basic framework which allows for a seamless
transmission of knowledge.

However since the 2 AOK’s use vastly different methodologies it is possible to

come to different conclusions by using an interdisciplinary approach across the
two AOK’s. Economics and physics are vastly different disciplines with
completely different scopes of study. Economists and econophysicists have
different assumptions about reader expectations: economists have a priori
approach which is independent of experience and depends on deductions
purely based on reason. Econophysicists follow a posteriori approach which
depends heavily on empirical evidence. Economists and econophysicists
present their scientific writing in different ways as well. (University Of
Cambridge)

According to Charles Bazerman this difference is due to the beliefs that rule
both the disciplines: physicists do not doubt the “scientificity” of their
approach, economists feel compelled to justify it by linking it with existing
knowledge. (Bazerman )

Hence the difference in language causes confusion and prompts the

knowledge question: To what extent can difference in language affect the
production of knowledge and cause confusion?
Although an interdisciplinary approach might cause some difficulties in
interpretation, interdisciplinary studies bridges gaps across disciplines and
allows us to produce more knowledge to understand the world as well as
ourselves better. By strictly confining ourselves within the boundaries of one
discipline, no real progress can be made, and the benefits of an
interdisciplinary approach far outweigh its drawbacks.

WORD COUNT 733

 Works Cited

Bazerman, Charles. Shaping Written Knowledge: The Genre and Activity of the

Experimental Article in Science. 1988.

Buchanan, Mark. "What's the Use of 'econo-physics??" Medium, 18 Mar. 2014,

medium.com/the-physics-of-finance/whats-the-use-of-econo-physics-dae83e0d7d8a.

Moran, Joe. Interdisciplinarity. Routledge, 2010.

"Natural Science." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_science. Accessed 24 Mar. 2019.

Rutherford, Jill, et al. Theory of Knowledge: IB Skills and Practice: For the IB diploma.

OUP Oxford, 2013.

University Of Cambridge, Dr. Christophe Claude Schincku. "When Physics Became

Undisciplined: An Essay on Econophysics." PhD Dissertation.