José Guilherme Merquior

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José Guilherme Merquior (Rio de Janeiro 22 April 1941 - 1991) , was a Brazilian diplomat, academic, writer, literary critic and philosopher. He divided his published works in two segments; in one the bulk was criticism per se; in the other the emphasis was the history of ideas, or more specific investigations like the highly-esteemed study of Rousseau and Weber.

He was a prolific writer, and member of the Academia Brasileira de Letras (the Brazilian Academy of Letters). He had a doctorate in sociology from the London School of Economics, which was directed by Ernest Gellner. Merquior also studied under Lévi-Strauss, and took guidance from the likes of Raymond Aron, Harry Levin, and Arnaldo Momigliano. He published books written directly in French, English, Italian, and his native Portuguese.