Abandonment of Ideals, by Olavo de Carvalho

Abandonment of Ideals is a transcript of a lecture from the course “Introduction to Intellectual Life”, from September 1987.

Since, for the human being, all things are merely preannouncements, it is necessary that his spirit never rest. It is fatigue that moves him and prevents him from perishing; it kills him, so that he does not die. From this living that does not live, comes the potential possession, always potential, of everything that, being perfect, distances itself from our present situation and, thus counterposed to the horizon, indicates a path. The ideal “must be placed in another time or another space that is not the present and the immediate, in a future or in a more comprehensive plane of reality. The ideal is the presence of this future in the present, of this other space here and now. An incomplete presence and, therefore, dynamic and tensional.”

Boethius’s Second Commentary on Aristotle’s On Interpretation

Boethius’s second commentary on Aristotle’s “On Interpretation” focuses on semantic theory and the relationship between language and thought. He elaborates on Aristotle’s view that spoken words and written letters are signs of the affections or thoughts in the soul, which primarily refer to things in the world. Boethius argues that words primarily designate thoughts and only secondarily signify things. He presents Aristotle’s semantic theory as a response to debates about the nature of language, highlighting the distinction between the conventional nature of language and the universal nature of thoughts and things. Boethius also explores the problem of how different individuals can have the same thought when observing the same object but using different words. He proposes a causal theory, suggesting that thoughts are identical because they are caused by the same object or event.

In addition to semantic theory, Boethius addresses the topic of future contingents and divine prescience. He examines Aristotle’s discussion on truth and falsehood in relation to future-tense sentences about contingent events. Boethius suggests that future contingent statements are indefinitely, not definitely, true or false. He offers interpretations of how truth values can be assigned to such statements, considering the retrospective fixation of truth value after the event. Boethius also discusses the issue of divine prescience, asserting that God’s knowledge encompasses the contingency of future events and does not imply determinism or necessitate everything to happen of necessity. His commentary provides valuable insights into these philosophical topics.

Conduct Towards Others, by Louis Lavelle

Conduct Towards Others, by Louis Lavelle, is a collection of texts that explore various aspects of human interaction and relationships. The book is divided into twelve chapters, each delving into different dimensions of how individuals relate to others and the world around them. Lavelle’s writings touch on topics such as the place of humanity in the world, the significance of presence and intimacy, the interconnectedness of all individuals, the dynamics of society and appearances, the virtues of discretion and consideration, the complexities of love and friendship, the role of justice and reciprocity, and the spiritualization of nature.

The chapters cover a wide range of themes, including the exploration of personal identity, the importance of genuine connections with others, the impact of our actions on the world, and the pursuit of spiritual growth. Lavelle examines concepts such as empathy, forgiveness, indifference, hatred, love, and the pursuit of virtue. Through his thought-provoking insights and reflections, Lavelle offers guidance on how individuals can navigate their relationships with others and cultivate a more meaningful and compassionate approach to life. “Conduct towards others” serves as a valuable resource for those seeking to deepen their understanding of human interactions and foster harmonious relationships in their personal and social lives.

Evil and Suffering, by Louis Lavelle

In two essays, first published in book form in 1940, Louis Lavelle dissects Evil and Suffering, tracing their relations to Good and Happiness, Body and Spirit, Matter and Spirit. Evil and Suffering is considered a work of moral philosophy. In it, Lavelle leads us to reflect on suffering and how it is embedded in the internal and external world of being. According to the author, the spirit arises from this experience of experiencing suffering.

The marks that pain causes in us allow us to transcend what we are to the external world, after we come to terms with suffering in the internal world. If suffering is an inherent condition of human life, it remains for us to do our best, face it, and overcome it. According to Lavelle, it is suffering itself that gives meaning to life; but this is only possible if there is an awareness that one is suffering, as it is this awareness that awakens the spirit. Through antitheses, the author also tells us that it is in absence that we find presence, in darkness that we see light, in solitude that we find communion, in an interior deepening where we perceive reality. Therefore, suffering connects beings. Pain shapes us, awakens us, and makes us better beings if we know how to confront it. The reading of this book, with its incredible spiritual richness, generates a dialogue within us about suffering, in order to transcend it.

Machiavelli, or, The Demonic Confusion, by Olavo de Carvalho

The origin of this essay dates back to the political philosophy course delivered in 2004 by Olavo de Carvalho to the Public Administration students of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná. From the notes prepared for these classes, the author wrote the first version of the essay, which was thought of as one of the chapters of a larger work on the revolutionary mindset, but ended up being published separately in 2011 due to its length.

Among the most famous modern thinkers, Niccolò Machiavelli is perhaps the first to present to the public such a disjointed and confusing doctrine. So disjointed and so confusing that one of his best interpreters, Benedetto Croce, summarized four centuries of investigations with the disenchanted conclusion that the Florentine thinker is ‘an enigma that will never be solved.’ After Croce, other first-rate scholars like Leo Strauss, Quentin Skinner, Hans Baron, and Maurizio Viroli believed they could solve the enigma; however, the solutions they offered differed so much from each other that they only managed to multiply it.

Consciousness of Immortality, by Olavo de Carvalho

In October 2010, the philosopher Olavo de Carvalho taught the course The Consciousness of Immortality in Colonial Heights, Virginia, which was later transcribed by his students. The transcriptions were organized and prepared by Ronald Robson and later edited and revised by the author, with the assistance of Mariana Reis. The result of this process, which emphasized the orality of the record, is presented in this book, which also includes a series of articles and lecture notes by the philosopher on the same course topic.

If we are immortal, we must be so in essence and not by accident. Immortality is then our true condition and the reality plane in which we effectively exist. In this case, the present bodily life is nothing more than a tiny fraction of our reality, a momentary appearance that conceals our true substance. Consequently, all the knowledge we can acquire within the limits of bodily existence is merely an appearance within an appearance. Although it grasps genuine portions of reality, it cannot have its own foundation within itself, but must seek it in the sphere of immortality.

The Error of Narcissus, by Louis Lavelle

The Error of Narcissus is not, contrary to what the title suggests, a lengthy meditation on the myth of Narcissus - this is merely its starting point. Louis Lavelle starts from the idea of self-enclosure to ask himself what would be the openness to the other within the common world, which for him is the “total presence.” Thus, Lavelle dedicates himself to themes such as measure, which is “at the same time this tension and understanding that make each thing be in its place, that make each faculty exercise its most direct and strongest play,” and wisdom, which, “instead of being, as is commonly believed, a renunciation of the absolute, is, on the contrary, that encounter with the absolute that gives each thing its measure.” Ultimately, Lavelle seeks an existential perfection, conjecturing standards by which a person could judge their most intimate actions and reach purity, “so perfect and so united that it offers no opening for any attack. It does not divide itself to know itself.”