Springer Biographies Between Two Worlds Memoirs of a Philosopher-Scientist With an Appendix by Marta Bunge: My Life with Mario MARIO BUNGE Springer Biographies The books published in the Springer Biographies tell of the life and work of schol- ars, innovators, and pioneers in all fi elds of learning and throughout the ages. Prominent scientists and philosophers will feature, but so too will lesser known personalities whose signifi cant contributions deserve greater recognition and whose remarkable life stories will stir and motivate readers. Authored by historians and other academic writers, the volumes describe and analyse the main achievements of their subjects in manner accessible to nonspecialists, interweaving these with salient aspects of the protagonists’ personal lives. Autobiographies and memoirs also fall into the scope of the series. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13617 Mario Bunge Between Two Worlds Memoirs of a Philosopher-Scientist With an Appendix by Marta Bunge: My Life with Mario Mario Bunge Department of Philosophy McGill University Montreal , Canada Springer Biographies ISBN 978-3-319-29250-2 ISBN 978-3-319-29251-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-29251-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931313 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland Pref ace I decided long ago never to write my memoirs, because I knew that episodic mem- ory is rather creative and, therefore, unreliable. But I changed my opinion when I read some strange biographies of mine, where even my mother’s maiden name had been altered. Besides, some relatives and friends put pressure on me: they thought that, as both a philosopher-scientist and a hyphenated Canadian, I had something interesting to tell. Let them bear some of my guilt. Some readers may wonder which are the worlds mentioned in the title of this glimpse into my life and work. They will fi nd out if they read up to the middle of the book. And then they will realize that the worlds in question are not two but four. I put “two” in the title so as not to alienate potential readers rightly suspicious of talk about alternative worlds. I tell my life as a sequence of episodic recalls of the form what-what for who-where-when. And I describe my work and times by outlin- ing only a few landmarks. When I started writing this book, I could not stop: con- trary to my expectations, my memories poured out effortlessly – perhaps a sign that I had enjoyed living even in hard times. I must have unfairly forgotten many people who have been good to me. It is also certain that I have underrated or even rubbished some people who deserved better. I will be the fi rst to deplore all that. In any case, look out! Montreal, Canada Mario Bunge Fall of 2015 v Contents 1 Childhood................................................................................................. 1 Family Background ................................................................................... 1 Mariechen in Argentina ........................................................................ 2 Repercussion of Nazism in Argentina .................................................. 3 My Parent’s Ancestors .............................................................................. 4 The Offspring of Carl August and Genara ................................................ 6 Mariechen and the Bunges ........................................................................ 8 The Shack .................................................................................................. 9 Shopping ................................................................................................... 10 Development of El Ombú ......................................................................... 12 Our Gardeners ........................................................................................... 12 Our Neighbors ........................................................................................... 13 Old Bottini’s Offspring ............................................................................. 14 Most Interesting Neighbors ....................................................................... 15 Sports and Games ..................................................................................... 16 Gardening .................................................................................................. 17 Holidays .................................................................................................... 17 Patagonians ............................................................................................... 18 Cooking ..................................................................................................... 19 Josef .......................................................................................................... 20 Learning at Home ..................................................................................... 20 First School ............................................................................................... 21 City Schools .............................................................................................. 22 First Encounter with Religion ................................................................... 22 2 Adolescence .............................................................................................. 25 High School .............................................................................................. 25 Near Expulsion .......................................................................................... 26 Our Teachers ............................................................................................. 26 Other Strange Teachers ............................................................................. 27 Classmates ................................................................................................. 28 vii viii Contents Girls ........................................................................................................... 29 My Mother’s Most Interesting Friends ..................................................... 30 El Ombú’s Habitués .................................................................................. 31 The Sunday Lunches ................................................................................. 32 The Spanish “Civil” War ........................................................................... 34 The Friends’ Reaction ............................................................................... 35 High School .............................................................................................. 36 Patagonian Lakes ...................................................................................... 38 Politics....................................................................................................... 38 The Local Communist Intellectuals .......................................................... 40 Ethical Intermezzo: The Committed Intellectual ...................................... 41 High School: Change of Gear ................................................................... 42 Encounter with Dialectical Materialism ................................................... 43 To Physics Through Chemistry ................................................................. 44 New Friends .............................................................................................. 45 Combining Callings .................................................................................. 46 Getting Rid of Freud and Ready to Start University ................................. 47 3 University Et Alia .................................................................................... 49 Beginning University ................................................................................ 49 My Mathematics Teachers ........................................................................ 51 The Teaching of Physics ........................................................................... 51 Theoretical Physics Courses ..................................................................... 52 Learning Quantum Mechanics .................................................................