What Is Psyche, by Olavo de Carvalho

In Olavo de Carvalho’s essay What Is Psyche, the concept of psyche is explored within the context of ancient and modern psychology. Olavo highlights the differences between ancient and modern approaches, with ancient psychology focusing on the unified vision of life and soul, while modern psychology seeks to differentiate itself from other scientific disciplines. The essay examines the attribution of psychic causes to behavior and raises questions about how psychologists distinguish psychic causes from other possible causes.

Olavo proposes four causes: physical, logical, chance, and psychic, and defines psyche as a zone of indeterminacy where these causes combine. He argues that psyche acts through these causes rather than directly. The distinction between psyche and chance is discussed, with psyche exhibiting elements of freedom and indeterminacy that serve the individual organism’s interests.

The characteristics of the psyche, including efficiency, freedom, creativity, will to power, and individuality, are outlined. The essay explores the processes of adaptation, expansion, perception, memory, and learning within the operations of psyche. The ego’s formation and its role in self-limitation of the psyche are discussed, along with the various notions of the unconscious. Olavo concludes by emphasizing that the psyche is the principle of human freedom, seeking to manifest itself by adapting to limitations, and psychotherapy aims to address the limitations of the ego and establish a balance with individuality and the external situation.

Intelligence, Truth, and Certainty, by Olavo de Carvalho

Intelligence, Truth, and Certainty, by Olavo de Carvalho, is a comprehensive work that delves into the nature of intelligence and its relationship with truth and certainty. The author critiques prevailing views on intelligence, challenges the notion of artificial thinking, explores evidence and certainty, examines the connection between intelligence and will, and discusses the importance of intellectual elites, independent thinking, doubt, and self-awareness. The work emphasizes the role of intelligence in apprehending truth, cultivating a desire for truth, and making judgments of truth or falsehood. It underscores the importance of embracing doubt, intellectual humility, and the formation of an intellectual elite based on shared belief in the power of human intelligence. The development of reflective consciousness and self-awareness is highlighted as essential for the pursuit of knowledge and the transformation of knowledge into self-awareness. Overall, the work provides a thought-provoking exploration of intelligence, truth, and certainty, urging readers to prioritize the pursuit of truth and engage in independent thinking.

Visions of Descartes, by Olavo de Carvalho

Olavo de Carvalho gathers in this book the essentials of what he has taught about René Descartes in his courses and conferences. Convinced that philosophy does not arise from a taste for abstract reasoning, but from the impulse to apprehend and express the universal meaning of accessible experience, the author leads us to a return from Descartes’s ideas to the real experiences that originated them. This method does not aim to provide a psychological explanation of a philosophy, but to clarify the effective meaning that the ideas had in the individual consciousness of the philosopher who conceived them, beyond – and beneath – the formal and dictionary sense they acquired throughout the philosophical tradition. For Olavo de Carvalho, Descartes’s philosophy is not an abstract system of ideas, but a cognitive drama.

Boethius’s First Commentary on Aristotle’s On Interpretation

Boethius’s first commentary on Aristotle’s “On Interpretation” aims to provide a deeper understanding of the book’s complex content and make it more accessible to readers. Boethius acknowledges the high regard that Aristotle’s work holds within the Peripatetic school, particularly in its meticulous examination of simple propositions. However, he also recognizes that the text presents difficulties and intricate judgments, making it challenging to comprehend easily. To address these challenges, Boethius has added two layers of commentary to supplement the interpretation of the book. By unraveling the concise and cryptic discourse, Boethius aims to bring clarity to the fundamental concepts of sentences. While some aspects require a deeper level of insight, which will be addressed in a subsequent series, Boethius assures readers that they can expect to grasp the material gradually by following the order of the text and the flow of the speech. Overall, Boethius’s first commentary intends to facilitate a step-by-step understanding of the content hidden within the brevity of Aristotle’s work.

Self-consciousness, by Louis Lavelle

The title of this book is “La conscience de soi”, which could be rendered most literally as “the consciousness of one’s self”, or more idiomatically as “self-consciousness” or “self-awareness”. Due to the constant uses of “consciousness” throughout the book which could not be very aptly rendered “awareness”, I went with the former. French does not have separate words for “conscience” and “consciousness”, but the latter sense is clearly indicated by speaking of “(consciousness) of” something, namely yourself.

Elements of Olavo de Carvalho’s Philosophy, by Ronald Robson

“Elements of Olavo de Carvalho’s Philosophy”, by Ronald Robson, provides a comprehensive overview of the key principles and concepts in the philosophical framework developed by Olavo de Carvalho. The work emphasizes the significance of individual consciousness as the foundation of knowledge, going beyond traditional subject-object distinctions. Olavo’s philosophy explores the complex layers of personality and the process of self-awareness, proposing a theory of twelve distinct layers that shape an individual’s development. The book delves into the role of confession and the method of extrusion in integrating personal experiences and articulating them through language.

The text also delves into the theory of four discourses, drawing inspiration from Aristotle’s work, to understand different modes of human communication. Olavo’s philosophy encompasses the investigation of reality and the world of principles, aiming to uncover the metaphysical foundations that govern existence. The author explores the importance of knowledge through presence, training consciousness to allow reality to speak to it, and advocates for cultural criticism as a means to challenge symbolic and political structures that limit individual consciousness.

Furthermore, the book delves into the concepts of cognitive parallax and the revolutionary mentality, highlighting their impact on intellectual understanding and social dynamics. Olavo’s political theory is presented, focusing on power as the ability to determine the actions of others, and identifying economic, military, and intellectual powers as essential aspects. The text concludes by emphasizing the significance of individual consciousness and self-awareness in Olavo’s philosophy, as well as the role of traditions, esoteric organizations, and intellectual orders as shaping forces in history.

Overall, “Elements of Olavo de Carvalho’s Philosophy” provides a comprehensive and in-depth exploration of the key ideas and principles within Olavo’s philosophical framework, encompassing metaphysics, epistemology, and political theory. It offers valuable insights into the nature of knowledge, individual development, communication, and societal dynamics, making it a significant contribution to the understanding of Olavo’s philosophical perspectives. After the end we have a list of references, which has been left untranslated, as most of the works have not been translated into English yet.

The Posthumous Man, by Mário Ferreira dos Santos

This is a book about Nietzsche by Mário Ferreira dos Santos. The title of the book in Portuguese was “O Homem Que Nasceu Póstumo”, or literally, “The Man Who Was Born Posthumous”. It is named after the famous quote by Nietzsche from his book “The Anti-Christ”, in which he said that “some men are born posthumously”. The thing is that in Portuguese, this quote is typically rendered “alguns homens nascem póstumos”, i.e., “some men are born posthumous”, with the adjective rather than the adverb. (Which, as far as I know, is equally allowed by the German, “Einige werden posthum geboren”.)

The subtle change in sense given by this common rendering into Portuguese, however, may be highlighted by the fact that, in quotation (rather than translation), people sometimes insert the word “já” after “homens”, giving the sense that “some men are already born posthumous”, or, some men are already posthumous at their birth. It conveys a sense of being fated, since your birth, to be “posthumous”, i.e., to be only known from your remains. It’s not that “the discovery of your remains is your true birth”, but rather that you were a “posthumous person” throughout your whole life, since you were born. It puts quite a different emphasis on Nietzsche’s meaning.