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Mario Bunge's Worldview and Its Implications for the Modernization Mario Bunge’s Worldview and its Implications for The Modernization of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy Ahmad Zahaadden Obiedat Faculty of Religious Studies McGill University, Montreal May, 2011 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research of McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Ahmad Zahaadden Obiedat, 2011 ii Abstract Zahaadden Obiedat, Ahmad. “Mario Bunge’s Worldview and its Implications for The Modernization of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy.” Ph.D. dissertation: McGill University, 2011. This study relates philosophy of science and philosophy of religion. It compares a system of western thought and its implications for contemporary Arab-Islamic philosophy. The basis for this approach lies in the concept of worldview as rooted in the process of systematization of available human knowledge in a harmonious way. Actually, many secularists attack the religious outlook but fail to provide a coherent and systematic worldview of their own. Mario Bunge (b. 1919) overcomes such a deficiency and offers a coherent modern worldview. The philosophy of Taha ‘Abd al-Rahman (born 1945), which attempts to modernize Arab-Islamic philosophy, is taken as the religious counterpart to Bunge’s modern worldview. Since the late 1950s, Mario Augusto Bunge, a widely read and influential Argentinean-Canadian philosopher of science, has become a leading figure of what might be called the scientific humanist project. This project aims at rethinking Kant’s combining of reason and experience, and this is why Bunge calls his new orientation ratio-empiricism. His philosophical endeavours culminate in a system of philosophy epitomized in the monumental nine-part Treatise on Basic Philosophy (1974-1989). Bunge’s numerous works necessitate the study of the dynamics of worldview- construction and its relation to what he calls ‘systemism.’ Bunge’s worldview is a synthesis of ontological materialism, epistemological realism, and what he calls ethical ‘agathonism.’ This synthesis forms a harmonious system that meets the requirements for a coherent worldview; it is the background of comparison for what Taha calls the ‘spirit of modernity.’ This study refers to Bunge’s unified worldview (chapter 1) and articulates its overall dynamics (chapters 2 to 4). Chapter 5 on Taha and his ‘spirit of modernity’ attempts to show that the modernization of Arabic-Islamic philosophy cannot achieve philosophical sovereignty without the contributions of systematic philosophy. The comparative merit of this study is significant for Bunge’s system, as it reveals its incompleteness: the rational, natural, and social sciences are studied in detail, while a great deal of the human sciences is not considered. But it is also significant for the Islamic outlook, as it presents a systematic response to the unified religious view and thus encourages religious persons in general, and Islamic philosophers in particular, to respond genuinely to Bunge’s challenge. iii Résumé Zahaadden Obiedat, Ahmad. “Mario Bunge’s Worldview and its Implications for The Modernization of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy.” Ph.D. dissertation: McGill University, 2011. Cette étude relève de la philosophie des sciences et de la philosophie de la religion. Elle compare le système de pensée occidental à la philosophie musulmane contemporaine, en tenant compte de la signification des conséquences de celui-là pour celle-ci. La méthode employée repose sur le concept de «vision du monde» en tant que systématisation harmonieuse des connaissances humaines disponibles. De nos jours, beaucoup de laïques attaquent les points de vue religieux; mais ils échouent à développer une vision du monde cohérente et systématique sur laquelle ils s’appuieraient. La pensée de Mario Bunge, un philosophe des sciences argentino-canadien né en 1919, ne contient pas de telles déficiences et offre une vision du monde moderne et cohérente. Dans cette étude, la philosophie de Taha ‘Abd al-Rahman, penseur né en 1945 et qui travaille à moderniser la philosophie arabo-musulmane, est considérée comme l’équivalent religieux de la vision du monde de Bunge. Depuis la fin des années cinquante, Mario Augusto Bunge est le chef de file de ce qui peut être appelé le «projet scientifique humaniste». Le but est de repenser la combinaison kantienne de la raison et de l’expérience. C’est parce qu’il poursuit cette fin que Mario Bunge considère son entreprise comme ratio-empirique. Elle aboutit à un système philosophique incarné par son monumental Treatise on basic philosophy (1974- 1989) qui comporte neuf volumes. Les œuvres nombreuses de Bunge obligent à étudier la dynamique en cause dans la «construction-de-vision-du-monde» et sa relation avec ce qu’il nomme le «systémisme». La vision du monde de Bunge est la synthèse d’un matérialisme ontologique, d’un réalisme épistémologique, et d’un «agathonisme» éthique. Elle forme un système harmonieux qui rencontre l’exigence de cohérence imposée aux visions du monde. Cette synthèse sert de point de comparaison avec ce que Taha ‘Abd al-Rahman nomme «l’esprit de la modernité». Le chapitre 1 réfère à la vision du monde de Bunge, et sa dynamique est esquissée dans les chapitres 2 à 4. Le chapitre 5 portant sur Taha ‘Abd al-Rahman et son «esprit de la modernité» montre que la philosophie arabo-musulmane ne pourra atteindre sa souveraineté philosophique sans la contribution de la philosophie systématique. Cette étude comparative révèle d’une part l’inachèvement de la pensée de Bunge, puisqu’elle étudie dans le détail les sciences rationnelle, naturelle et sociale, mais oublie de considérer certaines sciences humaines pourtant d’importance majeure. D’autre part, elle montre que la vision du monde de Bunge a pour avantage d’offrir une réponse systématique aux visions religieuses unifiées, tout en encourageant les penseurs religieux en général et les philosophes en particulier à lui répondre de manière originale et authentique. iv Acknowledgement First, I would like to thank my friend, Simon Staszewski, for encouraging me to pursue my study of the works of Mario Bunge. I thank Dr. Boutin, my dissertation supervisor, for his flexibility and trust in allowing me the freedom to pursue the questions and interests featured in this study. I am also thankful for the corrections, suggestions, and feedback he provided. I am indebted to Dr. Michael Kary, a mathematician and long time intellectual friend of Mario Bunge, who corrected an earlier manuscript and saved me from many inaccuracies related to the first part of this dissertation. Professor Robert Myles, of McGill University, was extremely supportive of my project, who in many discussions opened my mind to new dimensions. I am also thankful to the administrative genius of the Faculty of Religious Studies, Dr. Victor Hori, and the supporting staff, whose diligence and good cheer were outstanding through several administrative questions and requests throughout my studies. Finally, I have to thank Scott Halse and Razi Allah for editorial work they kindly provided me. I would also like to thank my parents, Zahaadden and ‘Afaf, for their constant love and support and my brother and sisters for their constant intellectual challenge. I am profoundly grateful to my wife, Jumana, for supporting me in my academic journey and living the hardships of intellectual work from its earliest seed with cheer. Appreciation is to the joy of life Dahlia, my daughter. Ahmad Zahaadden Obiedat v Contents Abstract………………………………………………………….…....………………….ii Résumé…………………………………………………………………………………...iii Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………………..….iv Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………...vii Introduction………………………………….…………………………….……………..1 1- Mario Bunge and the Meaning of ‘Systemism’…….……………………………..…3 1.1 A Worldview Constructor…………………………………….…………..…………...3 1.2 Systematic Worldview as the Task of Philosophy…………………………………....7 1.3 Bunge and System Building………………………………………………………….26 2 – Ontology: Scientific Metaphysics…………………….……………………………28 2.1 Rethinking Current Ontological Assumptions…….…………..……………….…….31 2.2 Bunge’s Four Proofs. …………………………….…………..……………………...35 2.2.1 Error…………………………………………………………………..……………37 2.2.2 Prediction…………………………………………………………………….…….38 2.2.3 Control………………………………………………………………………….….39 2.2.4 Discovery………………………………………………………………..…………40 2.3 Bunge’s Systemization of the World I: The Micro Structure of Reality…….………41 2.4 Bunge’s Systemization of the World II: The Macro Structure of Reality…….……..52 2.4.1 The Psychological Argument………………………………………………………53 2.4.2 The Ontological Argument………………………………………………………...53 2.4.3 The Cosmological Argument………………………………………………………54 2.4.4 The Teleological Argument………………………………………………………..54 2.4.5 The Ethical Argument……………………………………………………………..55 2.5 Concluding Remarks………………………………………………………………...71 3 - Epistemology: The Perfectibility and Unity of Human Knowledge……………...74 3.1 Approaching the Epistemological Problem………………………….……………....74 3.2 The Nature of Knowledge……………………………………………………………78 3.3 Bunge’s Views on the Validation of Truth Claims……………………………… ….82 3.4 Reduction and Integration: The Tree of Knowledge. ……………………………….95 4 - Ethics: Knowing the Good and Doing the Right………………………………...105 4.1 Scientific Humanism…………………………………………………………….…106 4.2 Naturalist Interpretation – A Quick Survey……………………………… …….….107 4.3 Scientific Humanism and the Structure of Ethics………………………………….112 4.4 Values in Scientific Humanism…………………………………………………….114 4.4.1 Nature, Content, and Structure of Values…………………………………….…..114 4.4.2 The
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