Enriching Transdisciplinary Discourse with Nonviolence

Abstract

Those engaged in transdisciplinary work and collaboration will encounter both positive and negative conflict. People can deal with negative conflict using violence or nonviolence. Violence is power over people, but nonviolence is power from within. Successful resolution of complex, wicked problems will require people to make significant changes in their human behavior. Nonviolence is proposed as a key element of this behavioral change. This paper brings the Gandhian notion of nonviolence to transdisciplinary discourse (i.e., communicating and exchanging thoughts and ideas with the intent to integrate into new knowledge). The objective of nonviolence is not to win or beat an opponent but to stop an injustice and change the situation. This entails learning and mastering the principles of nonviolence, which include several key concepts addressed in the paper: Satyagraha, seeking the Truth, self-discipline, self-sacrifice, suffering, no harm, resistance, and right actions.