consilience

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The concurrence of multiple inductions drawn from different data sets.

   “Indeed in all cases in which from propositions of considerable generality, propositions of a still higher degree are obtained, there is a convergence of inductions; and if in one of the lines which thus converge, the steps be rapidly and suddenly made in order to meet the other line, we may consider that we have an example of Consilience.”

   “CONSILIENCE of INDUCTIONS takes place when an induction obtained from one class of facts coincides with an induction obtained from a different class. This consilience is the test of the truth of the theory in which it occurs.”

2. (countable, uncountable)The agreement, co-operation, or overlap of academic disciplines.

   “[T]he call for consilience, which requires extending interdisciplinarity across the sciences/humanities divide, has, for the most part, been met with indifference or outright hostility by the majority of humanists.”

   “The consilience of a theory – its coherent integration with other theories – is also a desirable attribute, for consilience between theories contributes to their explanatory power as a group. Consilience can occur when a relatively general theory provides a broad explanation of phenomena that coheres with more specific theories, or when a specific theory provides a particular explanation that coheres with the broader explanations of a more general theory.”