Abstract

The transdisciplinary approach, with its unique way of combining ontology, logic and epistemology, could inject much fertility into semiotics, social science, the second-order cybernetics and system science. I explain why the metaphysics of transdisciplinarity, radical distinctive from social constructivism, is the most beneficial for the development of second-order cybernetics. I will also compare the continuous interconnectedness of transdisciplinary Reality with Peirce’s synechism. The Hidden Third, in its relationship with the levels of Reality, is fundamental for the understanding of unus mundus described by synechism. Transdisciplinary realism gives a solid foundation to the theory of synechism and could open new avenues of research in social science, the second-order cybernetics and system science.