Complexity and transdisciplinarity – Discontinuity, levels of Reality and the Hidden Third

In this paper some insights gained from contemporary theories of Complexity are used to illuminate several aspects of a theory of Transdisciplinarity and vice versa. These aspects include the notions of discontinuity, levels of Reality and the Hidden Third, which are all central components of the transdisciplinary framework. The mutual influence of these two fields on each other opens up further possibilities for research. This paper aims to explore these possibilities in more detail.

► Links between transdisciplinarity and complex systems are exposed. ► Full knowledge of complex reality is impossible. ► The world is at the same time knowable and unknowable. ► No level of Reality constitutes a privileged place from where to gain understanding. ► The Hidden Third is fundamental for understanding unus mundus.