12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Short Introduction to Mario Bunge and What to Read of His Numerous Books, March 4, 2009
A Very Short Introduction to Mario Bunge and What to Read of His Numerous Books
by A. Obiedat
ao7v@virginia.edu
Since the late 1950s, Mario Bunge emerged as a leading figure of what I call the "scientific humanist" project. This project aims to radically rethink the barren Kantian solution to combining the fruits of reason with experience; thus Bunge calls his new orientation ratio-empiricism. Scientific humanism is rational on the basis of rigorous consistency and imagination-based theorization and experiential by reliance on testing and the essentiality of matter and social life.
Born in Argentina in 1919, Mario Augusto Bunge was trained as a theoretical physicist. He is the Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at McGill University in Montreal, which he joined in 1966 and will retire from in 2009. He earned his PhD degree at the age of thirty-three, in physico-mathematical sciences at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata in 1952. Yet, physics is no more than one chapter out of many in his encyclopaedic scholarly life. For example, when he was a teenager his first intellectual loves were Hegel and psychoanalysis. However, Bunge states that reading Bertrand Russell cured him of his love of psychoanalysis, and studying mathematical logic corrected his erstwhile inclination to Hegel and Marx. This new philosophical orientation, Bunge says, "pushed me into physics, [...] and I continued to read philosophy on the side." This background and his powerful enthusiasm enabled him to craft the monumental nine-part (Treaties on Basic Philosophy), which is the first modern project to systemize the totality of contemporary philosophy since the medieval-Aristotelian system. In addition, his vast background made it possible for him to produce, amongst many other titles, Philosophy of Science, Foundations of Physics, Philosophy of Physics, Foundations of Biophilosophy, The Mind-Body-Problem, Finding Philosophy in Social Science, Philosophy of Psychology, Political Philosophy, and his Philosophical Dictionary. These outstanding contributions to knowledge resulted in him receiving sixteen honorary doctorates and four honorary professorships. Thus, it is not an exaggeration to state that no real-world science is alien to Bunge, because he has done serious works in fields ranging from physics to philosophy, linguistics to logic, biology to psychology, and sociology to political science. "The unifying thread of his scholarship is the constant and vigorous advancement of the Enlightenment project contrary to the cultural or academic movements that works to undermine it," (Michael R. Matthews). Such extraordinary philosophical background makes Bunge an exceptional philosopher in every aspect; hence, his philosophy criticizes systematically major current philosophical doctrines, e.g., empiricism, pragmatism, intuitionism, phenomenology, Marxism, hermeneutics, and logical positivism. In fact, Bunge himself admits that his philosophical orientation comes from a system of viewpoints, including materialism, scepticism, realism, scientism, systemism, and humanism. A brief sketch of Bunge's carefully synthesized philosophical doctrine can be seen in his Social Science Under Debate, where he calls for "[1] objective and relevant fact-finding, [2] rigorous theorizing, [3] empirical testing, as well as [4] morally sensitive and [5] socially responsible [philosophy]." The first principle, objective and relevant fact-finding, refers to his lifetime advocacy for a naturalist ontology that strives to explore reality as objectively as possible. This position came as a result of his critique of Berkeley-Hume-Kant subjectivism and phenomenalism, which denies the ability to know reality in itself. In particular, Bunge adopts the Aristotelian view that the "external world exists independently of our sense experience and ideation and that it can be known, if only in part." The second principle, rigorous theorizing, refers to the continuation of the heritage of analytical philosophy as conceptualized in two notions, i.e., linguistic clarity and mathematically precise reasoning. The third principle, empirical testing, builds on the massive accumulation and ramification of natural science and technology, where measured testing along with compatibility with the factual-formal body of knowledge is the criterion for the acceptance of new hypotheses. The fourth principle, moral sensitivity, reflects his argument for the existence of cross-cultural basic values and his universalistic stance on mutual human duties and rights. Finally, socially responsible philosophy reveals his repugnance for conservative and neo-liberal politics. This abbreviated pentagonal presentation of Bunge's philosophical orientation is necessary to understand the general horizon of his scientific humanism. Perhaps it is no oversimplification that Bunge's orientation is a major key to his success and prolificacy. It is a well-rounded and well-balanced strategy benefiting form a great variety of new findings and clear ideas.
The strategic question is where to start and what to read of his more than 50 books? I suggest approaching this ocean of knowledge according to seven choices, i.e., a) systematic, b) introductory, c) social, d) psychological, e) scientific-philosophical, f) metaphysical, and g) comprehensive sampling. The systematic choice concentrates on studying the Treaties, although it is very advanced and specialized reading task, particularly the first four volumes. The introductory group is of course a simpler version of Bunge's thought, although may not satisfy advanced and intellectually hungry readers. For readers of the humanities, the social, psychological, and metaphysical groups of books are extremely engaging, novel, and mind-entraining to read. The scientific-philosophical group is inspirable of any other group because science and scientific method are always present; yet, this list facilitates reaching particulars subjects in philosophy of science. Finally, the last group aims at a general sample of all the past six groups in order to encompass the most advanced investigations of Bunge in the fewest numbers of books. The seven choices are detailed below:
Bunge's (Treaties on Basic Philosophy) stands as his major achievement. It encompasses a quadrivium which he considers "the nucleus of contemporary philosophy", namely, semantics (theories of meaning and truth), ontology (general theories of the world), epistemology (theories of knowledge), and ethics (theories of value and right action). For approximately two decades, Bunge engaged in writing his magnum opus in order to investigate and synthesize contemporary philosophy in a single grand system that is compatible with the advancement of modern human knowledge both scientifically and philosophically.
A - Treatise on Basic Philosophy, 8 volumes in 9 parts:
Semantics
I: Sense and Reference. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1974.
II: Interpretation and Truth. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1974.
Ontology
III: The Furniture of the World. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1977.
IV: A World of Systems. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1979.
Epistemology and Methodology
V: Epistemology and Methodology I: Exploring the World. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1983.
VI: Epistemology and Methodology II: Understanding the World. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1983.
VII: Epistemology and Methodology III: philosophy of science and technology:
Part I. Formal and Physical Sciences. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1985.
Part II. Life Science, Social Science and Technology. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1985.
Axiology and Ethics
VIII: Ethics: the Good and the Right. Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1989.
All of these 8 volumes in 9 parts are currently in print, available under the Springer-Verlag imprint. However, some readers might be discouraged to read such a mammoth work. Therefore, the following books serve as simple and very introductory to his thought, particularly the second. The third is advanced but in a selected essays format.
B - Introductory General Books
- Scientific Materialism. Dordrecht: Reidel, 1981.
- Philosophy in Crisis: The Need for Reconstruction. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2001.
- Scientific Realism: Selected Essays of Mario Bunge. Ed. Martin Mahner. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2001.
For readers who demand more specialized works, Bunge's writings on the social sciences and psychology (which came after the Treatise on Basic Philosophy) are of the highest relevance to students of the humanities.
C- Social Science - Politics
- Finding Philosophy in Social Science. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1996.
- Social Science under Debate: A Philosophical Perspective. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
- The Sociology -Philosophy Connection. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1999.
- Vol. VIII: Ethics: the Good and the Right. Dordrecht: D. Reidel, 1989.
- Political Philosophy: Fact, Value, and Vision, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2008.
D- Scientific Psychology
- The Mind-Body Problem: A Psychobiological Approach. Oxford and New York: Pergamon, 1980.
- Philosophy of Psychology. with Ruben Ardila. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 1987.
Of course Bunge is in a distinguished position among current thinkers in the domain of philosophy of science as seen in the following, particularly, the first two-volume work.
E- Philosophy of Science
- Scientific Research I: The Search for System. (Heidelberg- New York: Springer-Verlag, 1967, 1973). Rev. ed. Philosophy of Science: From Problem to Theory. Vol. 1 New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1998.
- Scientific Research II: The Search for Truth. (Heidelberg- New York: Springer-Verlag, 1967, 1973). Rev. ed. Philosophy of Science: From Explanation to Justification. Vol...
Read more ›
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
