José Guilherme Merquior (April 22, 1941 – January 7, 1991) was a Brazilian diplomat, academic, writer, literary critic and philosopher.

Biography

He was a prolific writer, and member of the

Academia Brasileira de Letras The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its foundation on Tue ...

(the Brazilian Academy of Letters). He had a doctorate in sociology from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

, which was directed by

Ernest Gellner Ernest André Gellner Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI (9 December 1925 – 5 November 1995) was a British people, British-Czech people, Czech philosopher and social anthropology, social anthropologist describ ...

. Merquior also studied under

Claude Lévi-Strauss Claude Lévi-Strauss (, ; 28 November 1908 – 30 October 2009) was a French anthropologist and ethnologist whose work was key in the development of the theories of structuralism and structural anthropology. He held the chair of Social Anthro ...

(whose ideas Merquior would largely repudiate in ''From Prague to Paris''), and took guidance from the likes of

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his ...

, Harry Levin, and Arnaldo Momigliano. He published books written directly in French, English, Italian, and his native Portuguese. Merquior divided his published works in two segments. In one the bulk was criticism ''per se''; in the other the emphasis was the history of ideas, or more specific investigations like the highly esteemed study of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

and

Max Weber Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist and political economy, political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of Modernity, ...

. Two of his books, ''

Foucault Foucault may refer to: *Foucault (surname) *Léon Foucault (1819–1868), French physicist. Three notable objects were named after him: **Foucault (crater), a small lunar impact crater ** 5668 Foucault, an asteroid **Foucault pendulum *Michel Fouca ...

'' (1985), an often scathing critique of

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and ho ...

for the Fontana Modern Masters series, and '' Western Marxism'' (1986), were described as "minor classics" by Catholic scholar (and later, white nationalist)

Gregory R. Johnson Gregory Johnson (born 1971) is an American white nationalist and advocate for a white ethnostate. He is known for his role as editor-in-chief of the white nationalist imprint Counter-Currents Publishing, which he founded in 2010 with Michael Po ...

.Johnson, Gregory R.
Without Sense or Reference
, review of Merquior's ''From Prague to Paris: A Critique of Structuralist and Post-Structuralist Thought.'' Merquior was a major supporter of the

Fernando Collor de Mello Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...

government and wrote many of Collor's public speeches. He died of cancer in January 1991, before Collor's downfall in 1992.

Books

:''Published in Portuguese'' * 1963: Poesia do Brasil, (antologia com Manuel Bandeira) * 1965: Razão do Poema * 1969: Arte e Sociedade em Marcuse, Adorno e Benjamin * 1972: A astúcia da mímese * 1972: Saudades do Carnaval * 1974: Formalismo e tradição moderna * 1975: O estruturalismo dos pobres e outras questões * 1975: A estética de Lévi-Strauss * 1976: Verso e universo de Drummond * 1977: De Anchieta a Euclides * 1980: O fantasma romântico e outros ensaios * 1981: As idéias e as formas * 1982: A natureza do processo * 1983: O argumento liberal * 1983: O elixir do Apocalipse * 1985:

ou O niilismo da cátedra * 1987: O marxismo ocidental * 1990: Crítica * 1990:

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

: dois estudos sobre a teoria da legitimidade * 1991: De Praga a Paris: uma crítica do estruturalismo e do pensamento pós-estruturalista * 1991: O liberalismo, antigo e moderno * 1997: O véu e a máscara :''Published in English'' * 1979: The veil and the mask: Essays on culture and ideology * 1980: Rousseau and Weber: Two studies in the theory of legitimacy * 1985:

Foucault (Merquior book) ''Foucault'' is a book by José Guilherme Merquior about the French philosopher Michel Foucault, first published in 1985. Overview Merquior's assessment of Foucault's work is largely negative; he argues that Foucault's work is marked by fac ...

* 1987: From Prague to Paris: A Critique of Structuralist and Post-Structuralist Thought * 1991: Western Marxism * 1991: Liberalism, Old and New * 1991: Foucault :''Published in French'' * 1986: Foucault ou le nihilisme de la chaire :''Published in Spanish'' * 1996 Liberalismo Viejo y Nuevo * 2005 El Comportamiento de Las Musas :''In memoriam'' * 1996 Liberalism in Modern Times - Essays in Honour of José G. Merquior. Edited by

and

César Cansino Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merquior, Jose Guilherme 1941 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Brazilian philosophers Alumni of the London School of Economics Ambassadors of Brazil to Mexico Anti-communism in Brazil Brazilian diplomats Brazilian literary critics Brazilian male writers Brazilian philosophers Brazilian social liberals Brazilian sociologists Conservatism in Brazil Critics of Marxism Foucault scholars Liberalism in Brazil Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Scholars of Marxism Writers from Rio de Janeiro (city)

Biography

Books

See also

References