Mario Bunge: biography of this Argentine philosopher

Mario Bunge (1919-2020) was an intellectual, a key figure of the 20th and 21st century, belonging to the field of science and philosophy.

This Argentine philosopher, physicist and epistemologist, who recently passed away at the age of one hundred, dedicated his entire life to spreading science and fighting against pseudoscience.

In this article we will delve into the life of this philosopher through a biography of Mario Bunge in summarized format, and we will explain what were his most relevant contributions in the scientific and philosophical world. Finally, we will mention some of his famous phrases.

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Summary biography of Mario Bunge

Mario Bunge (1919-2020) was a prominent Argentine intellectual and philosopher, as well as a physicist and epistemologist. Bunge was born on September 21, 1919 in West Florida (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and recently passed away; on February 24, 2020, in Montreal (Quebec, Canada), at the age of one hundred.

Origin and personal life

His father, Augusto Bunge, was a doctor and Socialist deputy; his mother, Maria Müser, was a nurse, of German origin, who emigrated to Argentina just before the start of the First World War (IGM).

As for his personal life, Mario Bunge was married twice; with his first wife he had two children, and with his second (Marta Carvallo, Italian mathematician), he had two more. Curiously, all of his children have been university professors. In addition, he also had grandchildren (a total of 10), as well as some great-grandchildren.

Studies and trajectory

Mario Bunge completed his compulsory secondary education at the Colegio Nacional in his hometown, Buenos Aires. Later, He received his doctorate at the National University of La Plata, in physics and mathematics.

He began working as a professor in 1956, at the University of La Plata, where he taught theoretical physics and philosophy. Later he worked as a teacher at the University of Buenos Aires; He spent a total of seven years between the two universities, until 1963.

Bunge worked as a professor of philosophy, logic and metaphysics in many countries (he was fluent in English, French and German), such as: Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Uruguay, Mexico, the United States, Germany and, of course, Argentina. In addition, he held a Chair in Logic and Metaphysics, called the Frothingham Chair, at McGill University in Montreal (Canada).

However, where Bunge spent the longest time as a professor was at McGill University (Montreal), where he taught from 1966 until the date of his death.

As a noteworthy fact about the philosopher, mention that in 1938, Mario Bunge founded and directed the Universidad Obrera Argentina (with less than twenty years of age); Said University came to have more than three thousand students. Unfortunately, it was closed by Peronism (Argentine political movement) in 1943.

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Thought

Mario Bunge he considered himself a defender of scientific realism. He intended to promote the exact, current philosophy that he himself originated. On the other hand, in terms of his thinking and his orientation, he also considered himself a scientist, a systemist and a materialist.

In addition, Bunge was contrary to pseudoscientific currents, that is, those practices or currents of thought presented as scientific, but which they do not really have a solid scientific basis behind them or a scientific method that supports them. endorse.

Bunge, throughout his career, fought against pseudoscience; according to him, these were: homeopathy, praxeology (the study of the logical structure of human action in an aprioristic way) and psychoanalysis, among others.

As for the more philosophical side, Bunge he rejected and criticized currents such as phenomenology, existentialism, philosophical feminism and hermeneutics, among other.

Economy and politics

In the field of economics and politics, Mario Bunge advocated cooperative socialism; Said current or thought, grouped together a series of theories of a reformist nature that defended the interests of the petty bourgeoisie.

In this sense, moreover, he rejected Soviet-type socialism and populism.

Contributions and relevant works

Mario Bunge made numerous contributions to the field of science and philosophy. His contributions were focused, above all, on scientific and philosophical dissemination at different levels.

As a noteworthy fact, Bunge founded the philosophy magazine Minerva (1944-45), and he co-founded the Rio de la Plata Association of Logic and Scientific Philosophy (1956) (of which he was also president).

On the other hand, Bunge's first work was Causality: The Place of the Causal Principle in Modern Science (1959), which was highly successful and was translated into seven languages. In this work, he defends determinism in modern science.

Another of his great outstanding works was his treatise on the theory of science, called Scientific Research (1967), which we can find in Spanish, and which also had a great impact, especially among students of philosophy and science.

In addition, in Spanish, we also find the following relevant works by Mario Bunge (these are just a few):

• Science, its method and its philosophy (1960)
• Philosophy of Physics (1962)
• Theory and Reality (1981)
• Economics and Philosophy (1982)
• The Mind-Brain Problem (2011)

Construction of a philosophical system

On the other hand, one of Bunge's major projects, in which he was fully involved, was the construction of a philosophical system that encompassed different fields of knowledge, such as: semantics, ontology, philosophy of science or ethics, among others. This project was developed between 1969 and 1989.

Acknowledgments

Mario Bunge's recognitions are numerous: to begin with, he received up to 21 honorary doctorates and four honorary professorships from different universities (both from Europe and America).

Bunge also received the Prince of Asturias award in 1982, and in 1986, he received the Konex Award (in the discipline "Logic and Theory of Science"), among other various awards. His last award was in 2016, and consisted of the second Konex Award (in this case, in the discipline "Logic and Philosophy of Science").

On the other hand, regarding its promotion of science and knowledge, it should be noted that Bunge was, since 1984, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also a member, since 1992, of the Royal Society of Canada.