Argentine scientist and philosopher Mario Bunge has died tonight at a hospital in Montreal, where he lived since 1966, sources close to the family have confirmed to EL PAÍS. Bunge is one of the most cited Spanish-speaking scientists in history, and had just turned 100 last September. He has published half a thousand articles and more than a hundred books, and was recognized with the Prince of Asturias Award for Humanities and Communication in 1982 for the international influence of his philosophy. He also received more than twenty honorary doctorates, in addition to four honorary professors at European and American universities. The family will not perform any kind of ceremony, as was the wish of Bunge himself.
Mario Bunge was born in Greater Buenos Aires on September 21, 1919. He was professor of theoretical physics and philosophy, first at the University of La Plata and then at the University of Buenos Aires. He was currently a professor of logic and metaphysics at McGill University (in Montreal), where he taught since 1966. In 1938, with less than 20 years, he was founder and leader of the Universidad Obrera Argentina, which had more than 3,000 Students before being shut down by Peronism in 1943. Bunge, who was fluent in English, French and German, also taught at dozens of American and European universities. Throughout his career he was especially known for his tireless fight against pseudosciences.
His best-known book is Science, his method and his philosophy , published in 1960, in which he explains the basis of the scientific method, but he has written dozens of more books on philosophy of science and epistemology, and also on theoretical physics, psychology , mathematics and ontology, including the eight volumes of his Basic Philosophy Treaty .
Bunge spoke with EL PAÍS last year, on the occasion of his 100th birthday. "International politics seems like a disaster to me and right-wing populisms are alarming," he said. He also reflected on the value of science and the importance of making sustained investments in it. "We do not know how to measure the speed of science, but what we do know is that the cuts to scientific expenses amount to cuts in the brain and benefit only politicians who measure with ignorance." In addition, he was especially concerned about the state of philosophy: "Philosophy is going through a bad trance, because there is no original thinking, almost all philosophy professors do what they say to philosophers of the past, they do not address new problems , like that of inverse problems. "
One of his constant battles, for which he kept writing books and giving interviews, was the fight against pseudoscience. In a text published in EL PAÍS in 2017 he warned against "pseudoscientificism", which consists in "presenting pseudosciences as if they were authentic sciences because they exhibit some of the attributes of science, in particular the conspicuous use of mathematical symbols, although they lack their essential properties, especially compatibility with previous knowledge and empirical contrast. "
We know that longevity, although it depends on lifestyle, also depends on luck. I've had a lot of good luck. "
Bunge was the teacher and inspiration of a whole generation of Spanish-speaking scientists. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, the neuroscientist Ignacio Morgado celebrated it like this: "An indefatigable and diligent worker, Mario Bunge continues to deal with issues of science, political philosophy and philosophy and society in his Canadian retreat." Morgado remembers the phone that was written almost every day with Bunge, until two or three days ago, the philosopher stopped responding. "The humanity of Professor Bunge," Morgado wrote on the occasion of his 100th anniversary, "is reflected not only in his social ideology, in the moral dimension of his thinking and in his demands for justice, equal opportunities for men and women , economic democracy and rationality, but also in special situations of his academic life, such as when he blamed himself, publicly, for believing that he had been unsupportive with Dr. Justine Sergent, a competent, industrious, well-liked and possibly envied, neuropsychologist of the famous Neurological Institute of Montreal, who ended up committing suicide at 42, like her husband, not being able to resist the humiliation and social pressure she had to face after being accused of having violated the deontological code of your profession".
Morgado and the philosopher Avelino Muleiro remember Bunge in an article sent today to EL PAÍS on the occasion of his death: "He has been working as professor emeritus until almost the end of his days, and we think it is right to say that the more he has deepened human nature has more wanted to attach that knowledge to goodness and the struggle to build a better world, far from wars and injustices. " "From him we have learned that the universal adoption of a scientific attitude can make us wiser and more cautious in receiving information, in the admission of beliefs and in the formulation of forecasts; more demanding in contrasting our opinions and more tolerant with those of others, more willing to inquire freely about our possibilities and eliminate consecrated myths that are only myths, "says Morgado.
Bunge was married to Italian mathematician Marta Cavallo and had four children, all of them university professors (her daughter Silvia is a recognized neuroscientist), 10 grandchildren and many other great-grandchildren. In his interview with EL PAÍS he reflected on longevity: "While I lived in my homeland I did not imagine that I would reach a century, or even sleep a whole night, because there life depended on the police. Here [in Canada], where I don't fear policemen, you don't think dingily. But we know that longevity, although it depends on lifestyle, also depends on luck. I've had a lot of good luck. "