Luis Vinker
02/25/2020 - 20:29
- Clarín.com
- Culture
More than fifty books, hundreds of articles and thousands of lectures revealed the wisdom of Mario Bunge in different fields, even though Physics - first - and Philosophy later, as the axis of his action, were the main ones. His Philosophy Treaty , developed between 1974 and 1989, covers topics ranging from ethics to economics, from biopsychology to mathematics. On his own legacy he said that “it is not limited to Philosophy and Science, it also includes Metaphysics, Theory of knowledge, Ethics and Political Philosophy. My main contribution is to build a philosophical system with new ideas. It is a new philosophy characterized by realism. ”
Strong critic of what he called "pseudosciences," he argued that "objective knowledge, supported by strong evidence and valid theories is far superior to hunches." And so he wrote in his work Pseudosciences, what a trap, one of the best known and provocative.
And he affirmed: “Pseudosciences consist in presenting themselves as if they were authentic sciences. But they lack the essential properties, especially compatibility with previous knowledge and empirical contrast. ”
“Astrology is harmless. But psychoanalysis and alternative medicines are harmful. ”
Mario Bunge Philosopher
For Bunge , only science "leads to objective and impersonal truths." And he believes that " pseudosciences are harmful when they ally with political power or intend to replace medicine." He considered that some were very destructive: “Astrology is harmless. But psychoanalysis and alternative medicines are harmful. ” And so he undertook it even with homeopathy "that prevents treating the patient in a scientific way."
In the strictly philosophical field he undertook it against some of the most recognized in the academic field: Hegel, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Michel Foucault . He called this " trickster ." And about Martin Heidegger he wrote that "he was a living , who took advantage of the German academic tradition."
“You have to attack the drug trade at the root, and not just tell the boys not to get high”
Mario Bunge Philosopher
On the so-called "contemporary moral philosophers" he questioned: "They continue to deal with problems of individual morality, but the main ethical problems are those that affect large populations. For example, the problem of poor health in very large sectors or the expansion of the drug seems more important. You have to attack it at the root, to the drug trade, and not just tell the boys not to get high. ”
Ultimately, Bunge questioned all the postmodern and irrationalist currents that Latin American universities took over.
And under his criticism - since he was very young - psychoanalysis also fell. He called "great macaneador" Freud himself . “In Argentina, the faculties of Psychology are dominated by the Lacanians . Once I put in a book 'charlacanismo' and the proofreader placed 'charlatanismo', I thought it was a mistake of mine ... No, it was not, I thought so ”.
"Capitalism has had its historical merits, but it is morally unsustainable"
Mario Bunge Philosopher
His first book was Topics of popular education (1943) and, among the later ones, the principle of causality in modern science (1959), Intuition and science (1962), Materialism and science (1981) or, later, Intuition and reason (2005). The following year he published 100 ideas , the book to think and discuss in coffee, which summarized his numerous journalistic publications.
On his political convictions, he recalled - in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País in 2015 - that “when I was young, I had hope in authoritarian socialism, in the revolution. Those hopes evaporated. My attitude towards Marxist philosophy changed. I made a detailed critique of the dialectic, the core of Marxist philosophy. And it is confusing and, at best, false. ”
Mario Bunge In 2010, with Diana Maffia. He was distinguished by the Buenos Aires Legislature as Outstanding Personality of Culture / Telam
Bunge also considered that “capitalism has had its historical merits, but it is morally unsustainable. The productivity of all industrial sectors doubled in the last half century, but wages remained constant. That is, a few benefited. The rich became richer and the poor stayed the same or worse. On that side, Marxists are right, but the alternative they propose is not viable because they confuse socialization with nationalization. ”
Without neglecting some of those ideals of his youth - also a legacy of his father - Bunge came to consider that socialism "must be democratic, cooperative and comprehensive." And that an ideal system "would be to combine democracy with socialism."