Olavo de Carvalho
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Olavo de Carvalho (born April 29, 1947, in the city of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo) is a Brazilian philosopher and political pundit currently living in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., with his family.
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[edit] Work
His works have brought him a number of admirers, an array of followers - and a multitude of critics.[citation needed] Nonetheless he has expressed his unease with the label "right-wing" and the tendency to attempt to place his work on a crude political spectrum dealing with various subjects, especially politics, philosophy, culture, society, media, criticism and art.
The main theme in Carvalho's essays and articles is the defense of human interiority against the tyranny of collective authority; or, in his own words: Only the subject's individual consciousness can testify for the unwitnessed acts, and there is no act more deprived of external testimony than the act of knowing.
His book O Imbecil Coletivo: Atualidades Inculturais Brasileiras (The Collective Imbecile), released in 1996, prompted many new admirers and haters. In another book, O Jardim das Aflições (The Garden of Afflictions), Carvalho makes a correlation between Epicurus and Marx's thinking, and shows how the advent of the modern thinking is creating a civil religion at the expense of the sacred traditions, especially Christianity.
Olavo de Carvalho is also the editor of an online newspaper called Mídia Sem Máscara (Unmasked Media), a media-watch experiment in which he tries to address errors and omissions from what is usually seen by him and his contributors as a very strong leftist bias in the press.
[edit] Talk Show
Every Monday evening (Brazil and US time), the Brazilian philosopher broadcasts his Internet radio program.[1] For one hour, Olavo de Carvalho talks about philosophical, cultural and political questions of Brazil, USA and worldwide. Online listeners can also send in questions via e-mail or call in by telephone during the program. Even though the program is in Portuguese, it has become the most popular show on BlogTalkRadio.[2]
[edit] Criticism
Criticisms of Olavo de Carvalho due to his previous astrological work or the fact his ideas are influenced by religious thought are commonplace among his left-wing critics.[citation needed]
After being publicly criticized by Olavo de Carvalho for his atheistic attacks on Christianism, Judaism and the Israel State,[citation needed] and afterwards being blocked from publishing articles on Olavo de Carvalho's online journal Mídia Sem Máscara,[citation needed] writer and journalist Janer Cristaldo also began criticizing him for being an astrologer and a pseudophilosopher. Although not original, Cristaldo's criticisms of Olavo de Carvalho distinguish themselves because he remains a right-wing intellectual and because he has previously been a collaborator of him.
[edit] Notes
[edit] Published Works
In Brazil:
- A Longa Marcha da Vaca para o Brejo: O Imbecil Coletivo II, 1998
- Como Vencer um Debate sem Precisar Ter Razão. Comentários à "Dialética Erística" de Arthur Schopenhauer., 1997
- O Futuro do Pensamento Brasileiro. Estudos sobre o Nosso Lugar no Mundo., 1998
- Aristóteles em Nova Perspectiva. Introdução à Teoria dos Quatro Discursos (reedição aumentada de Uma Filosofia Aristotélica da Cultura), 1994
- O Imbecil Coletivo: Atualidades Inculturais Brasileiras., 1996
- O Jardim das Aflições. De Epicuro à Ressurreição de César — Ensaio sobre o Materialismo e a Religião Civil., 1995
- A Nova Era e a Revolução Cultural: Fritjof Capra & Antonio Gramsci, 1994
- O Caráter como Forma Pura da Personalidade, 1993
- Os Gêneros Literários: Seus Fundamentos Metafísicos, 1993
- Símbolos e Mitos no Filme "O Silêncio dos Inocentes", 1993
- Fronteiras da Tradição. São Paulo, Nova Stella, 1986
- Astrologia e Religião. São Paulo, Nova Stella, 1986
- Astros e Símbolos. São Paulo, Nova Stella, 1985
- Universalidade e Abstração e Outros Estudos. (São Paulo, Speculum), 1983
- Questões de Simbolismo Astrológico. São Paulo, Speculum, 1983
- O Crime da Madre Agnes ou: A Confusão entre Espiritualidade e Psiquismo. São Paulo, Speculum, 1983
- A Imagem do Homem na Astrologia. Jvpiter. São Paulo, 1980
[edit] External links
- In English
- The Revolutionary Mentality
- "The Garden of Afflictions", Chapter VI, §16-17, Epicurus and Marx)
- The metaphysical foundations of the literary genres
- The Problem of Truth and the Truth of the Problem
- Mr. Rorty and his animal fellows
- Metaphysics and the Fundamentals of Objectuality (Draft for comments in class - Seminar of Philosophy)
- Descartes and the psychology of doubt
- In Portuguese
- Olavo de Carvalho's website - mostly in Portuguese, includes articles in English, Spanish, French and Italian
- Mídia Sem Máscara - Carvalho's online newspaper, in Portuguese and English
- A critique to Olavo de Carvalho's activities - in Portuguese
- A critique to one of Carvalho's articles - in Portuguese
- Another critique to one of Carvalho's articles - in Portuguese
- Comprehensive Bibliography - in Portuguese
