Mariano Artigas (1938-2006). In memoriam.

José Angel García Cuadrado

Dr. Mariano Artigas died on the 23^rd of December in Pamplona,Spain at the age of 68 after an extended illness. Over the course of his life he published more than twenty books and fifty articles in specialized journals with international scope. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he died at the height of his intellectual life that promised even greater depth and breadth of research in the field of epistemology and philosophyof science.

Born in Zaragoza on the 15^th of December 1938, he later moved to Barcelona to begin undergraduate studies in physics. Just graduated, he left for Rome to begin ecclesiastical studies and was ordained a priest in 1964 having received, a year earlier, a doctorate in philosophy from the Lateran University. He returned to Barcelona where he carried out with devotion, extensive pastoral activity with university students. During that time he also furthered his studies in the University of Barcelona where he obtained in 1968 a doctorate in physics and, in 1979, a doctorate in philosophy. From 1968 to 1972, he lectured in the same university on epistemology and philosophy of science which inspired the book he later published entitled El desafío de la racionalidad. Also during this time he wrote numerous articles, the majority of which were commentary and analysis of books that had captured the interest of the general public.

Professor Artigas was a tireless reader who always remained abreast of the important publications that dealt with the relationship between science and religion. Over the course of his academic career, he never lost his preoccupation with making the main issues regarding the relationship between science and religion accessible, using his talent for blending scientific rigor with a clear and straightforward style of writing. Along this line, he published a critical study of Karl Popper’s epistemology entitled La búsqueda sin término (EMESA 1979), a brief introduction to philosophy, Introducción a Filosofía (Eunsa 1984, 4^th printing 1995), a textbook, Filosofía de la Naturaleza, (Eunsa 1984; 5^th edition 2003) co-authored with Juan JoséSanguineti and which was later translated to Italian. During that time he also published one of his better known books, Las fronteras del evolucionismo, which has a prologue by Sir John Eccles and contains an interview with this Nobel prize for medicine recipient. The book, which was quickly translated to Portuguese and Italian, puts forth, in a serious and clear manner, the achievements of the studies on evolution while he points out the inability of such approaches to offer an explanation for the specific spirituality of human beings. According to Professor Artigas, the scientific theory of evolution belongs to a realm of knowledge that is distinct from that of the doctrine of creation and the apparent incompatibility between evolution and creation is the result of a failure to frame these approaches epistemologically. For this reason, Artigas suggests speaking of “evolutionary creationism” or a “creationist evolution”. This more respectful position towards both science and faith could help move beyond the often polemic debate that exists. Another well received book from this period is Ciencia, razon y fe (Palabra 1984; 6^th edition, Eunsa 2000) with a prologue by Evandro Agazzi.

In 1987 he moved to the University of Navarra where he was named ordinary Professor of philosophy of nature and philosophy of science. With the move,Professor Artigas began the last and most fruitful period of his academic research. The following year he established the Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy and was named its dean.

During these years of university lecturing, he produced other works for widespread publication: El hombre a la luz de la ciencia (Palabra 1992, which contains a prologue by Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo, then Grand Chancellor of the University of Navarra, and a dialogue with him on the topic of “Science and Conscience”. That same year, his book Ciencia y fe: nuevas perspectivas (Eunsa 1992) was published. As by-products of his lecturing came the textbook Filosofía de la ciencia (Eunsa 1999) and Filosofía de la ciencia experimental (Eunsa 1989, 3^rd edition 1999) which has been recently translated to English under the title of Knowing Things for Sure, Science and Truth (The University of America Press 2006). His studies in philosophy of nature produced two important books: La inteligibilidad de la naturaleza (Eunsa 1992) and La mente del universo (Eunsa 1992; 2^nd edition 1995), also published in English, The Mind of the Universe, Understanding Science and Religion (Templeton Foundation Press, 2000). He also published various monographic studies on epistemology and contemporary philosophy of science such as El desafío de la racionalidad in which investigates, in a respectful yet critical manner, the main authors in this field from the second half of the twentieth century; Logica y ética en Karl Popper which includes some previously unpublished comments by Popper on Bartley and critical rationalism (also in English, The Ethical Nature of Karl Popper´s Theory of Knowledge, Peter Lang, 1999). One of the prime characteristics of Professor Artigas’ philosophical proposal is respect for scientific research; he always maintained that its achievements and conquests cannot be undervalued. However, if scientific investigation presents itself as the only model for epistemology and the ultimate criteria of truth, it ends upself-destructing. If science forgets its realist philosophical foundations (i.e. the existence of an extra-mental truth and the human capacity to know it) then it is destined to become an instrument at the service of unspeakable interests.

In his last years, Artigas focussed especially on questions related to the history of science and placed his study on the horizon of the dialogue between science and faith. With the rigor and precision of a true historian (that led him as far as the Vatican Archives to discover yet unpublished documents) he delved into the Galileo affair and the Church’s position on Darwin. This research produced the books Galileo en Roma, Crónica de 500 dias, that he co-authored with William Shea and which was simultaneously published in English as Galileo in Rome, The Rise and Fall of a Troublesome Genius (Oxford University Press, 2003), Negotiating Darwin, The Vatican confronts evolution, 1877-1902 (The Johns Hopkins UniversityPress, 2005) co-authored with Thomas Glick and Rafael Martinez and translated to Japanese amongst other languages; Galileo Observed, Science and the Politics of Belief (Science History Publications), co-authored by William Shea. His last book published to date is a critical analysis of the thought of six contemporary authors: Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists versus God and Religion (Oxford University Press, 2006) co-authored by Karl Giberson.

He published various articles as a collaborator for the journal Anuario filosófico. Two of these articles are his ample notes on international symposiums that he attended; on the mind-body problem in AF XIII/2 (1980)145-156, and another on scientific truth, in AF XV/1 (1982) 199-210. He later published an interesting article in debate with Karl Popper titled “Conocimiento humano, fiabilidad y falibilismo” XXX/2 (1992) 277-294; and regarding the same author “Lógica y ética en K.R. Popper” XXXIV/1 (2001)101-108. Along the same lines, he wrote “El diálogo ciencia-filosofía en la encíclica Fides et Ratio” XXXII/3 (1999) 611-640. His main works have also been reviewed in this journal.

Professor Artigas received recognition from numerous international philosophical associations. He was named a member of the European Association for the Study of Science and Theology; correspondent member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences; Member of the project committee “Science & Human Values”, subsidized by the European Science Foundation. In 1995 he received a Templeton Foundation prize for his work in the area of science and religion. He was also named ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas (Vatican) and consultant to Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers. Recently he was named member of International Society for Science & Religion, an association that has its central office in the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, UK. Professor Artigas was also an honorary professor of Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru), and visiting professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome) and of the University of Barcelona. In addition he lectured at all of the following universities: Universidad de la Sabana (Colombia), Universidad de Piura (Lima), Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru), Universidad de los Andes (Santiago, Chile), Universidad Panamericana (Mexico), Faculty of Theology of Lugano (Switzerland), and Redemptoris Mater Seminary (Holand).

In 2002, together with a team of professors and researchers, he established the research group Ciencia, Razón y Fe (CRYF) that has its center of activity in the University of Navarra and which aims at promoting interdisciplinary study of questions that are found at the crossroads of science, philosophy and theology.

With the passing of Professor Mariano Artigas, Spain’s university community has lost one of its members of greater international profile and impact. Undoubtedly, his rich scholarship will continue produce fruit through those who, by his teaching and publications, are the beneficiaries of this legacy that is imbued with respect and love for the truth.