On the nature of cross-disciplinary integration: A philosophical framework

• Successful responses to grand challenges require cross-disciplinary integration.
• Key perspectives on integration in cross-disciplinary theory are analyzed.
• Notions of integration in philosophy of biology are closely examined.
• An account of integration as a generic process synthesizes insights from these domains.

Meeting grand challenges requires responses that constructively combine multiple forms of expertise, both academic and non-academic; that is, it requires cross-disciplinary integration. But just what is cross-disciplinary integration? In this paper, we supply a preliminary answer by reviewing prominent accounts of cross-disciplinary integration from two literatures that are rarely brought together: cross-disciplinarity and philosophy of biology. Reflecting on similarities and differences in these accounts, we develop a framework that integrates their insights—integration as a generic combination process the details of which are determined by the specific contexts in which particular integrations occur. One such context is cross-disciplinary research, which yields cross-disciplinary integration. We close by reflecting on the potential applicability of this framework to research efforts aimed at meeting grand challenges.