Antônio da Silva Mello (May 10, 1886 – September 19, 1973), best known as A. da Silva Mello was a Brazilian

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and writer.

Biography

Mello was born in

Juiz de Fora Juiz de Fora (, '' Outsider Judge''), also known as J.F., is a city in the southeastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, approximately from the state border with Rio de Janeiro. According to 2020 estimates the current population is about 57 ...

. He studied at the Granbery Institute and then joined the Medical School of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, where he attended until the third year, when he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, graduating in 1914. He specialized in clinical medicine, publishing scientific papers on the subject. He wrote on

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

immunity Immunity may refer to: Medicine * Immunity (medical), resistance of an organism to infection or disease * ''Immunity'' (journal), a scientific journal published by Cell Press Biology * Immune system Engineering * Radiofrequence immunity desc ...

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

nephrology Nephrology (from Greek'' nephros'' "kidney", combined with the suffix ''-logy'', "the study of") is a specialty of adult internal medicine and pediatric medicine that concerns the study of the kidneys, specifically normal kidney function (ren ...

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

."Antônio Silva Mello, doctor, writer and academic, graduated in medicine in Germany"
O Explorador. In 1918 he returned to Brazil, he was a professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro. He held courses for physicians and students at the Policlínica de Botafogo and

Santa Casa de Misericórdia Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

. In 1944 he founded the ''Brazilian Journal of Medicine'', of which he was scientific director until 1973. Mello was a member of the

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

and the

Brazilian Academy of Medicine The Academia Nacional de Medicina (ANM) is the Brazilian national academy of medicine. The academy was founded during the Brazilian imperial period on 30 June 1829, under the name of ''Sociedade de Medicina do Rio de Janeiro''. On 8 May ...

. He identified as an

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...

. Mello was a friend of psychiatrist Rudolf Dreikurs who was impressed by his research on mental health.

Skepticism

Mello was the author of the skeptical book ''Mistérios e Realidades Deste e do Outro Mundo'' published in Brazil in 1950. It was translated into English by M. B. Fierz and published as ''Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next'' by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 1960. He examined case studies of

faith healing Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...

, hypnosis,

parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...

and

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

. He discovered much credulity, deception and exaggeration. According to a review it is a "very interesting and provocative work... ellodisbelieves in the reality of paranormal phenomena and thinks that all can be explained in terms of the known. In his view psychical researchers are both credulous and gullible and are to be blamed for pandering to human superstition and the widespread hunger for the occult."

Selected publications

* ''Problemas do ensino médico e de educação'' (1937) * ''Man, His Life, His Education, His Happiness'' (1956) * ''Mistérios e Realidades Deste e do Outro Mundo'' (1950) ranslated as ''Mysteries and Realities of This World and the Next'' (1960)* ''A Superioridade do Homem Tropical'' (1965)Jean, Roche. (1968)
"A. da Silva Mello, A superioridade do Homem tropical"
Cahiers du monde hispanique et luso-brésilien 11 (1): 243–245.

Biography

Skepticism

Selected publications

References

Further reading