Olavo de Carvalho (born April 29, 1947, at the city of Campinas, in the state of São Paulo) is a Brazilian philosopher. Known for being one of the few right-wing thinkers in Brazil, his works have brought him a number of admirers, an array of followers - and a multitude of critics. He is unarguably one of the most original and audacious Brazilian intellectuals, and arguably one of the most brilliant. Admiration for his work was expressed by such different people as Jorge Amado, José Sarney, Roberto Campos, Ciro Gomes and Arnaldo Jabor.
Olavo de Carvalho
The main theme in Carvalho´s essays and articles is the defense of human interiority against the tiranny of colective 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 studies in Philosophy, Literature and Religion have led to a number of original conclusions that apply for current events. He is also a Philosophy teacher at universities.
An iconoclast, Carvalho is known for dissecting- with an arguably grim sense of humour- false academical prestige and the fallacies of the current dominant intellectual speech. His book "O Imbecil Coletivo: Atualidades Inculturais Brasileiras" (The Collective Imbecile: Brazilian Incultural Current Activities), launched in 1996, got him lots of both admirers and haters.
Olavo de Carvalho is also the editor of an online newspaper called Mídia sem Máscara (Maskless Media), with articles and essays that are radically different from what is usually seen in the Brazilian press.
