Postmodernism and the Present State of Integrative Studies: A Reply to Benson and His Critics

Abstract

Benson and his critics seem to make three troubling assumptions: 1) There is only one valid theoretical approach to interdisciplinary studies. 2) Unanimous agreement is a possible and desirable goal. 3) When a consensus on general principles and methods is achieved, a new legitimacy will follow. These assumptions are all wrong because they are based in the modern Cartesian school of foundationalist epistemology rather than postmodern epistemology. Knowledge and justification are better understood as social phenomena rather than as grounded in nature, reason, language or historical laws. Interdisciplinarians should be open to a variety of approaches, picking what works the best for the time being.