The development of human knowing by scientific research has taken a path, which seems unfortunate in certain respects. The knowledge explosion and information overload are fundamental problems, which often lead to overspecialisation. This creates a need for interdisciplinary research, but here the problems of information overload are even more overwhelming. Cooperation is indicated, but the increasingly competitive atmosphere in science apears to be inappropriate for the purpose. Instead it seems necessary to interact "in a kind, caring and positive manner in order to create and nurture the most positive spirit, friendly fellowship and crosscultural/crossdisciplinary understanding" (auotation from G. Lasker at the International Symposium on Systems Research Informatics and Cybernetics, Baden-Baden, Germany, 1993).
In order to realize these ideas in research work the International Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Psychiatry was founded in 1992. The Center is organized as a "Center Without Walls", i.e. a cooperation between persons (not necessarily directly interested in psychiatry) who may well be distributed al over the world. Likewise the facilities may be widely distributed. Right now the Center has some facilities in Denmark, including an interdisciplinary library with working space, machines for communication and space for smaller meetings.
So far the Center has worked mainly with ideas (see further below) and it has been possible for each member to cober his own expenses, helped by bursaries and a donation. The independence of the Center is laid down in its statutes, according to which financial support may only be accpted, if it is completely without "strings attached". It is difficult to foresee the development of the Center's financial situation in the future, but we anticipate that the means may be restricted (at least for periods) so that the Center will not ve able to pay salaries. Working members may be holders of bursaries, (early) pensioners, students, workers on sabbatical etc. and it is possible to work with other institutes, e.g. on experimental projects.
Such external conditions impose limitations, but may also facilitate the creation of a research milieu, where cooperation is encouraged an competition is restricted to sound forms. As mentioned above we believe that there is a need for such milieux, such niches in the contemporary scientific community.
The Center is open to persons from all field of research, and it now has 15 members, who represent specialist knowledge in the following disciplines: Psychiatry (including psycho-therapy, occupational therapy and psychopharamacology), General Medicine, Chemistry, Psychology, Media Research, Ethology, Epistemology, Research Methodology, Cybernetics, Logic and Law. We try to develop a base of special interdisciplinary knowledge.
Ideas studied curently are in the following subject areas: possible roles of psychopathology in processes of defense, adaptation and self-regulation (Sørensen and Randrup, 1992); dopamine and glutamate in developing psychoses (Randrup, 1990; Munkvad 1951); occupational therapy (Seki, 1990); space and time, interdisciplinary and psychiatric aspects (Marchais and Randrup, 1991) and spirituality. The main idea is to integrate these various studies by means of interdisciplinary methods, i.a. the "systemal method" of P. Marchais (Marchais and Randrup, 1986).
At the moment the cooperative work on spirituality (and meditation, contemplation etc.) is particularly active. We study types and phenomenology of spiritual experience and the relations of spirituality to: mental and general health, physiology, evolution, societal problems (including "spiritual democracy" and social ecology), anthropology, mind-matter problems and the development of human knowing. This research applies scientific methods, but admittedly this subject has led us to the borders of science and may eventually indicate a more comprehensive conception of human knowing.
The Center may regarded as an experiment, and we anticipate that many problems and difficulties will arise. We also anticipate that the work with these problems may lead to original results and to a new and useful working style.
Contact: Axel randrup, International Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Psychiatry, Bygaden 24 B, Svogerslev, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
References
Marchais, P. and Randrup, A. (1986): Psychiatrie et recherche interdisciplinaire. Intérêt de la méthode systémale; Ann. Méd.-Psychol. (Paris), Vol. 144, No. 2 (pp. 129-141).
Marchais, P. and Randrup, A. (1991): De la spatio-temporalité, étude psychiatrique et interdisciplinaire; Ann. Méd.-Psychol. (Paris), Vol. 149, No. 1 (pp. 1-33).
Munkad, I. (1951): Glutaminsyre- og Glutamin-bestemmelser i Plasma (with an English summary); copenhagen, Arne Frost-Hansen.
Randrup, A. (1990): Stereotyped Behavior, Amphetamine, and Psychosis. This Week's Citation Classic, Current Contents, Vol. 12, No. 2 (p. 15).
Seki, M. (1990): Perception and Occupational Therapy (in Japanese). In: Occupational Therapy. Approach for Mental and Physical Disturbance (eds. Katou, N., Takemura, K. and Suzuki, A.); Tokyo, Souzou Syupan (pp. 115-120).
Sørensen, G. and Randrup, A. (1992): Evidence and Theory Indicating a Protective or Adaptive Value of Psychopathology in Pernicious Environments. In: General Systems Approach to Alternative Economics and Values (ed. Peeno, L.P.) USA, International Society for the systems Sciences (pp 737-741).
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