Transdisciplinarity as Epistemic Topology: Polytopy, In-Between Spaces, and the Transformation of Knowledge

While transdisciplinarity is increasingly recognized and used as an approach for understanding, analyzing, and addressing complex societal challenges, its epistemological, conceptual, and methodological foundations do not stem from a single paradigm. A diversity of approaches coexist within academia—reflecting the pluralism and dynamism of the field—ranging from more philosophical and epistemological orientations to more pragmatic, solution-oriented approaches. This article contributes to current debates by proposing a topological conception of transdisciplinarity, emphasizing spaces of in-betweenness, permeability, and relational tension between disciplines, rather than perpetuating linear and hierarchical models of knowledge organization. The article conceives of transdisciplinary research both as a topology of knowledge and as a mode of appropriation—a way of understanding the dynamic spaces that lie between and beyond disciplines. By mobilizing the concept of “polytopy” in an original and innovative way, the article argues that transdisciplinary research requires the ability to interact simultaneously and autonomously with multiple epistemic spaces. Transdisciplinary researchers are thus understood as polytopic actors, capable of crossing disciplinary boundaries and navigating with expertise and rigor across heterogeneous disciplinary worlds, institutional spaces, and more or less constraining—or, conversely, permissive—epistemic norms. This perspective sheds light on the possibilities and tensions experienced by transdisciplinary researchers within predominantly monotopic academic institutions. Finally, the article examines the implications of this framework for the future of research and higher education, particularly in the context of accelerating technological transformations and the rise of artificial intelligence. It argues that transdisciplinary topologies and polytopic modes of appropriation are essential resources for fostering creativity, reflexivity, and ethical judgment in a future increasingly shaped beyond disciplinary boundaries.