Expert knowledge, Mode-2 and scientific disciplines: two contrasting views

In the recent debate in the sociology of the sciences about transdisciplinarity, Mode-2 science is heralded as inducing a new disciplinary structure of science and scientific research. We argue that this debate can be interpreted as a continuation of an older discussion about two conflicting conceptions of interdisciplinarity that we call ‘early integration’ and ‘late integration’, the latter pleading for a strong disciplinary basis of interdisciplinary projects, whereas the former advocates dismissing disciplinary approaches right from the start. As a prominent representative of transdisciplinary science, climate research is considered as a case study. It is at least questionable whether a weakening or erosion of disciplinary approaches can be diagnosed in this field. We argue that the demand for ‘socially robust knowledge’ that makes transdisciplinary science inevitable, as is claimed by Nowotny, does not imply a weakening of the disciplinary structure of science.