Abstract

Realism and scientific rationality: A journey from logic to ethics Mariano Artigas’s relationship with the work and person of Karl Popper went through three phases. The first one ends with Artigas’s book entitled Karl Popper: búsqueda sin término. Artigas found in Popper a powerful source of inspiration. But he also stated several discrepancies with Popper, especially in regard to the thesis of the conjectural nature of knowledge. However, Artigas saw the possibility of a fruitful dialogue with Popper. The second phase begins with the correspondence between Artigas and Popper, and culminates with the publication by Artigas of a book entitled El desafío de la racionalidad. Here, some affinities and differences appear in regard to the theory of rationality of both authors. The third phase was opened precisely in 1994, with the reading by Artigas of several Popperians hitherto unpublished texts. These texts revealed themselves crucial to the understanding of the Popper’s position on the problem of rationality. It became clear that the Popperian idea of critical rationality has its support and inspiration more in the field of ethics than in the domain of logic. This finding left open a path of greater proximity and sympathy between them, as it is stated in Artigas’ book Lógica y ética en Karl Popper ; a path that, for biographical reasons, they were unable to travel together, but that represents a challenging invitation for today’s philosophers.