Marilena de Souza Chaui (born September 4, 1941) is a Brazilian

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and Professor of Modern Philosophy in the

University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...

. She is a scholar of

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

and

Maurice Merleau-Ponty Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty. (; 14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest an ...

. Chaui is one of the founding members of Workers' Party and an assiduous critic of the

capitalist model Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

Life

Chaui is a Professor of

Political Philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

and History of

Modern Philosophy Modern philosophy is philosophy developed in the modern era and associated with modernity. It is not a specific doctrine or school (and thus should not be confused with ''Modernism''), although there are certain assumptions common to much of it ...

in the

, having been awarded a master's degree in 1967, and received her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1971 with the essay "Introduction to Reading Spinoza", under the guidance of Professor Gilda de Mello e Souza Rocha. In 1977, she taught

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in the University of São Paulo.Marilena de Souza Chauí
usp.br, Retrieved 4 September 2016 Her book '' What is Ideology?'' was selected by the

Ministry of Education and Culture The Ministry of Education and Culture is a Cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture are separate departments; in others, the Ministry of Education and Culture als ...

of Brazil as a mandatory textbook in public schools, becoming a bestseller with over a hundred thousand copies sold. Chaui had served as Municipal Secretary of Culture of São Paulo, from 1989 to 1992, during the administration of

Luiza Erundina Luiza Erundina de Sousa (; November 30, 1934) is a Brazilian politician, born in Uiraúna, a small city in the interior of the Brazilian state of Paraíba. Political history From 1980 to 1997 she was affiliated with the PT party (Workers’ P ...

(1988-1992). In 2013, during the release of the book "10 Years of Post-Liberal Government in Brasil: Lula and Dilma"

Family

Chaui is the daughter of the journalist Nicholas Alberto Chaui, of Arabic origin, and teacher Laura de Souza Chaui. She was married to the journalist José Augusto de Mattos Berlinck, with whom she had two children - José Guilherme and Luciana. She is currently married to Michael Hall, a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and professor at the

State University of Campinas The State University of Campinas ( pt, Universidade Estadual de Campinas), commonly called Unicamp, is a public research university in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Unicamp is consistently ranked among the top universities in Brazil and Latin ...

(UNICAMP).

Partial bibliography

She is the author of, among others, *''O que é Ideologia? (''What is Ideology?) *''Escritos sobre a Universidade (''Writings on University) *''Cultura e Democracia: o discurso competente e outras falas (''Culture and Democracy: The competent speech and other speeches ) *''Da realidade sem mistério ao mistério do mundo: Espinosa (Spinoza, Voltaire e Merleau-Ponty (From the Reality without mysteries to the Mystery of the World: Spinoza, Voltaire and Merleau-Ponty)'' *''A nervura do real: Imanência e Liberdade em Espinosa (''The rib of the real: Immanence and Freedom in Spinoza ) *''Espinosa e Política em Espinosa (''Spinoza and Politics in Spinoza) * ''Repressão Sexual (Sexual repression) * ''Brasil: Mito Fundador e Sociedade Autoritária ('' Brazil: Founding Myth and Authoritarian Society) * ''Introdução à História da Filosofia (''Introduction to the History of Philosophy) * ''Convite à Filosofia (''Invitation to Philosophy) * ''Cidadania Cultural (''Cultural citizenship) * ''Simulacro e poder (''Simulacrum and power)

References

External links

Marilena Chauí's webpage at FFLCH-USP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaui, Marilena 1941 births Living people Brazilian philosophers Workers' Party (Brazil) politicians University of São Paulo faculty University of São Paulo alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Commanders of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Brazilian women philosophers 20th-century Brazilian philosophers Political philosophers Women political writers 20th-century Brazilian women writers Spinoza scholars