Sentence:  For centuries <WSD>consilience</WSD> has been the mother's milk of the natural sciences. Now it is wholly accepted by the brain sciences and evolutionary biology, the disciplines best poised to serve in turn as bridges to the social sciences and humanities. ... The central idea of the <WSD>consilience</WSD> world view is that all tangible phenomena, from the birth of stars to the workings of social institutions, are based on material processes that are ultimately reducible, however long and tortuous the sequences, to the law of physics. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The agreement, co-operation, or overlap of academic disciplines.