The Problem of Disciplinary Fragmentation

The human sciences—sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, and others—have developed as distinct disciplines over the past two centuries. While this division has enabled specialization, it has also constrained our understanding of the human condition by encouraging fragmentation over integration. This article argues that traditional disciplinary boundaries no longer serve the complexity of contemporary human inquiry. Drawing on systems thinking and the cyclical view of knowledge history presented by Ibn Khaldun in Al-Muqaddimah, this article calls for a rethinking of how we structure the study of human beings—not as separate domains, but as integrated systems embedded in dynamic contexts.