Olavo de Carvalho was a renowned Brazilian thinker, born on April 29, 1947, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. He was hailed by critics as one of the most original and audacious thinkers of all time, with intellectual giants such as Wolfgang Smith, Diana West, Jeffrey Nyquist, and President Jair Bolsonaro expressing admiration for his work.
Olavo's work centered on defending human interiority against collective authority, especially when supported by scientific ideology. He believed that there is an indissoluble link between the objectivity of knowledge and the autonomy of individual conscience, which gets lost when the criterion of validity of knowledge is reduced to a uniform and impersonal form.
Olavo sought to give a new interpretation to ancient spiritual traditions, such as Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, making them the matrixes of a philosophical and scientific strategy for solving problems in modern culture. He applied this strategy in various works, including "Os Gêneros Literários: Seus Fundamentos Metafísicos", "Aristóteles em Nova Perspectiva: Introdução à Teoria dos Quatro Discursos", and "Símbolos e Mitos no Filme 'O Silêncio dos Inocentes'".
His work culminated in "O Jardim das Aflições", where he used primordial symbols to create a philosophy of history, which widens from a minor event to encompass the entire horizon of Western culture. The subtlety of the construction makes "The Garden of Afflictions" also a work of art.
Olavo's texts are known for their unique style, which combines technical and rigorous philosophical language with popular language, wordplays, and sudden changes of tone. His work also has a controversial component, where he exposes the false academic prestige and fallacies of the current intellectual discourse.
Based in the United States from 2005 until his death in 2022, Olavo undertook the Online Philosophy Course (COF),reaching thousands of students. He also published several books, including "Maquiavel ou A Confusão Demoníaca", "A Filosofia e seu Inverso", and "Visões de Descartes - Entre o Gênio Mau e o Espírito da Verdade".
Olavo's internet debate with Russian thinker Alexandre Dugin in 2011 was published in book form and shed light on Vladimir Putin's political-military strategy and the precepts of Eurasianism. His book "O Mínimo que Você Precisa Saber Para Não Ser um Idiota" became a bestseller in Brazil, elevating him to the status of one of the most successful authors of recent times.
As a columnist for the newspaper Diário do Comércio, Olavo wrote a collection of articles published in 8 volumes, "Cartas de Um Terráqueo ao Planeta Brasil", which covers topics related to culture, politics, education, philosophy, behavior, and society with a rich and critical voice.
Despite being recognized as a man of balanced and calm temperament, Olavo was also known for his fierce and critical voice. He died on January 24, 2022, leaving behind his wife and 8 children.
