George Agostinho Baptista da Silva,
GCSE (;
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
, 13 February 1906 –
Lisbon, 3 April 1994) was a
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
philosopher, essayist, and writer. His thought combines elements of
pantheism
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ...
and
millenarism
Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin language, Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious organization, religious, social, or political party, political group or Social movement, movement in a coming fundamental Social tr ...
, an ethic of renunciation (like in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
or
Franciscanism
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
), and a belief in
freedom as the most important feature of man. Anti-dogmatic, he asserts that truth is only found in the sum of all conflicting hypothesis (in
paradox
A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...
). He may be considered a ''practical philosopher'', living and working for a change in society, according to his beliefs.
He is part of a tradition of
visionary
A visionary, defined broadly, is one who can envision the future. For some groups, this can involve the supernatural.
The visionary state is achieved via meditation, lucid dreams, daydreams, or art. One example is Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th- ...
thought that includes Father
António Vieira
Pedro António Vieira (; 6 February 160818 July 1697) was an Afro-Portuguese Jesuit priest, diplomat, orator, preacher, philosopher, writer, and member of the Royal Council to the King of Portugal.
Biography
Vieira was born in Lisbo ...
and the poets
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões (; sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns, ; c. 1524 or 1525 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespear ...
and
Fernando Pessoa
Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa (; 13 June 1888 – 30 November 1935) was a Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher, and philosopher, described as one of the most significant literary figures of the 20th century and ...
. Like
Joachim de Fiore
Joachim of Fiore, also known as Joachim of Flora and in Italian Gioacchino da Fiore (c. 1135 – 30 March 1202), was an Italian Christian theologian, Catholic abbot, and the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore. According to the ...
, he speaks of the coming of an age in History—the Age of the
Holy Spirit—in which mankind and society attain perfection. To Agostinho da Silva, this means the absence of economy, brought about by technological evolution, and the absence of government. It also means that the nature of mankind and the nature of God will become the same. In this sense his philosophy is both an
eschatology
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
and an
utopy.
Biography
''(translated and adapted from: Romana Brázio Valente,
Agostinho da Silva: Síntese Biográfica)''
George Agostinho Baptista da Silva was born in
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
in 1906. Later that same year, he moved to
Barca d'Alva (
Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo
Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo () is a municipality in the District of Guarda in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 6,260,[Classical Philology
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...]
at the
Faculdade de Letras of
University of Porto. After graduation he began contributing to the
Seara Nova
Seara is a municipality in the state of Santa Catarina in the South region of Brazil. The Museu Entomológico Fritz Plaumann is located in the town.
See also
*List of municipalities in Santa Catarina
This is a list of the municipalities in th ...
magazine (a collaboration that continued until 1938).
From 1931, as a scholarship student, he attended
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
and
Collége de France (Paris). In 1933 he commenced teaching at
Aveiro high school but was discharged in 1935 for refusing to sign a statement—then mandatory to all civil servants—which renounced participation in secret (thus subversive) organizations.
He created the
Núcleo Pedagógico Antero de Quental in 1939, and in 1940 began publishing ''Iniciação: cadernos de informação cultural''. He was arrested by the secret police in 1943 and left the country the following year.
He lived in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
from 1947 to 1969 due to his opposition to the
authoritarian regime of the ''
Estado Novo'' (New State). He taught at
Faculdade Fluminense de Filosofia and collaborated with
Jaime Cortesão in research about
Alexandre de Gusmão (18th century diplomat). From 1952 to 1954 he taught at
Federal University of Paraíba
Federal University of Paraíba ( pt, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, UFPB) is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Along with Federal University of Campina Grande, they're the main ...
in
João Pessoa and also in
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
.
In 1954, again with Jaime Cortesão, he helped organize the 4th Centennial Exhibition of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. He was one of the founders of
University of Santa Catarina, created the
Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais (Afro-Oriental Studies Center), taught
Theater Philosophy at
University of Bahia, and, in 1961, became an external policy adviser to the Brazilian president
Jânio Quadros
Jânio da Silva Quadros (; January 25, 1917 – February 16, 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and Politics of Brazil, politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from January 31 to August 25, 1961, when he resigned from office. He als ...
. He helped create the
Universidade de Brasília
The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad".
The Universiade is refer ...
and its
Centro de Estudos Portugueses (Portuguese Studies Center), in 1962, and, two years later, created the
Casa Paulo Dias Adorno in
Cachoeira
Cachoeira ( Portuguese, meaning waterfall) is an inland municipality of Bahia, Brazil, on the Paraguaçu River. The town exports sugar, cotton, and tobacco and is a thriving commercial and industrial centre.
The municipality contains 56% of the ...
and idealizes the
Museu do Atlântico Sul in
Salvador.
He returned to Portugal in 1969 after Salazar's illness and replacement by
Marcello Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano (; 17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António Salazar. He served as prime minister from 196 ...
, which created some political and cultural opening in the regime. He continued to write and teach at Portuguese universities. He directed the
Centro de Estudos Latinoamericanos (Latin-American Studies Center) at
Technical University of Lisbon
The Technical University of Lisbon (UTL; pt, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, ) was a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of preexisting schools, and comprised the faculties and institutes of vete ...
, and acted as a consultant to
Instituto de Cultura e Língua Portuguesa (ICALP, Portuguese Culture and Language Institute).
In 1990, the Portuguese public television channel RTP1 broadcast a series of thirteen interviews with him entitled ''Conversas Vadias''. He died at
São Francisco de Xavier Hospital in
Lisbon in 1994.
A documentary entitled ''Agostinho da Silva: Um Pensamento Vivo'', directed by
João Rodrigues Mattos, was released by Alfândega Filmes, in 2004. There is an unreleased interview by
António Escudeiro entitled ''Agostinho por Si Próprio'', where he talks about the worship of the
Holy Spirit.
He's revered as one of the leading Portuguese intellectual personalities of the 20th century. Among his works are biographies of
Michelangelo,
Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named after ...
and
St. Francis of Assisi
Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
; his most influential book may be ''Sete Cartas a Um Jovem Filósofo'' (''Seven Letters to a Young Philosopher'').
He was a vegetarian.
[(pt)'']
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal: Agostinho da Silva
His Own Words
''(translated from: Silva, Agostinho da, ''Educação de Portugal''. Lisboa: Ulmeiro, 1989. )''
a) "... that each man is different from myself and unique in the universe; that I am not the one, consequently, that must reflect instead of him,
..that knows what is best for him,
..that must point his way. Towards him I have only one right: helping him to be himself; as my essential duty to myself is being who I am, as uncomfortable as that may be
..
b) "... loving others and wanting their good has been the reason of much oppression and much death
.. essentially, you must not love in others anything but freedom, theirs and yours. They must, for love, cease being slaves, as must we, for love, cease being slave owners."
c) "And it is the child the one that must be considered the
noble savage, spoiling her, mis-shaping her
..the least we possibly can
..
d) "Believing, thus, that man is born good, which means on my regard that he is born a brother to the world, not its owner and destroyer, I think that education
..has not been much else than the system through which this fraternity is transformed in domination."
According to Agostinho da Silva, some of the most relevant aspects that shaped the nature of the Portuguese people and influenced the culture of Portuguese-speaking nations are: its popular religiousness, with strong elements of
millenarism
Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin language, Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious organization, religious, social, or political party, political group or Social movement, movement in a coming fundamental Social tr ...
and
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...
; a tradition of participatory democracy and autonomy based on small local communities; a tendency towards cultural miscegenation and
cosmopolitanism in balance with a nostalgia for the homeland and its cultural heritage; a slow and difficult adaptation to
modernity
Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the "Age of Reas ...
, namely to
illuminist ideas and capitalist economy.
References
External links
Associação Agostinho da SilvaAgostinho da Silva: Study of the Personal Archives- Centre of Philosophy of Lisbon (CFUL), FCT Project POCI/FIL/60850/2004
University of Porto Famous Alumni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Agostinho Da
1906 births
1994 deaths
20th-century Portuguese philosophers
Portuguese essayists
Portuguese male writers
University of Porto alumni
People from Porto
20th-century Portuguese writers
Male essayists
20th-century essayists
20th-century male writers