1. General

*         “Olavo de Carvalho is the author of priceless philosophical reflections.” (Carlos Alberto Montaner, O Estado de S. Paulo, January 19, 1999.)

*         “A man of high competence in Philosophy, he has obtained a wide success both as a scholar and as a professor.” (Jorge Amado, Brazilian acclaimed novelist, in a personal letter to their common friend Stella Caymmi.)

*        “He gave us definitive proof of the seriousness of his goals and of his comprehensive philosophical scholarship.” (Romano Galeffi, Professor of Esthetics, Bahia Federal University, in an official report on the project of my book Aristotle in a New Perspective.)

*         “Indifferent to cultural show business, Olavo de Carvalho chose for himself the true intellectual life.” (José Enrique Barreiro, TV Educativa, Salvador, BA.)

*         “An independent intellectual, free from any links to political groups, and the owner of a wide philosophical culture.” (Carlos Cordeiro, Diário de Pernambuco, Recife, August 22, 1989.)

*         “I admire in Olavo de Carvalho not only the high value of his intellectual work, but also the polemical vigor of his combats.” (J. O. de Meira Penna, former Brazilian Ambassador to Israel and to Poland, Jornal da Tarde, São Paulo, October 10, 1996.)

*         “A philosopher of great erudition.” (Roberto Campos, Minister of Planning (1964-67), Brazilian Ambassador to the United States and to the United Kingdom, Folha de S. Paulo, September 22, 1996.)

*         “Monumental! His work has the wide breadth of an epic of the word, the fearlessly bright word, the brave and exact word.” (Herberto Sales, prominent Brazilian novelist and member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, in a personal letter.)

*         “The most brilliant and controversial Brazilian thinker.” (Monica Grigorescu, Rompress ~ Romanian National News Agency, July 3, 1997.)

*         “A man of intellectual courage.” (Jarbas Passarinho, former Minister of Education, O Estado de S. Paulo, June 19, 1988.)

2. On The New Age and Cultural Revolution

*         “Excellent and timely.” (Josué Montello, president of Brazilian Academy of Letters, in a personal letter to the author.)

*         “A living being, magnificent, enlightening.” (Jacob Klintowitz, art critic of Jornal da Tarde, São Paulo).

3. On Aristotle in a New Perspective

*         “Olavo de Carvalho goes right to the founders of Western philosophical tradition.” (Paulo Francis, O Globo, January 5, 1997).

*         “If Voegelin had read this, he would have incorporated your thought into his own to explain how we proceed from perception to science.” (Frederick Wagner, Eric Voegelin Society, letter to the author, February 14, 2005).

*         “…de Carvalho's paper is very well organized and quite consistent - on a solid philosophical, interpretative and historical foundation… It contains a convincing and fascinating explanation of the organic, historical development of discourses across cultures (and, incidentally, reminded me of Voegelin!). This is followed by excellent rational justification (“logical necessity of the four discourses”) and by a thorough psychological explanation with detailed analysis of the discourses in relation to human activity. This structure makes Mr. de Carvalho's treatment very complete, without any residue. I particularly liked his discussion of the unity of human knowledge in its unfolding; the interplay between imagination and reason; also the particular analysis of the dynamism of each discourse (in its vicinity, relying on the antecedent and subsequent discourses). Here, the author gives an excellent, informed account of Aristotle's epistemology and emphasizes the mapping from process to method which is indeed very consistent with Aristotle's view. I was quite impressed by his relevant note on modern studies on the inseparability of the discourses (the very pertinent mention of Pratt, Perelman, Kuhn, Godel) and with his rejection of Aquinas' linear scale of “worth” among the discourses. The author is very mature and doesn't let himself get carried away by his thesis, but plans carefully and handles all aspects in the proper historico-philosophical context; and he is always explicit about his intentions, never obscure. He does not avoid apparent inconsistencies or difficulties, trying to resolve or explain them. This is how philosophy is supposed to be done.” (Tudor Munteanu, Eric Voegelin Society, letter to Frederick Wagner, February 27, 2005).

*         “Never since Giambattista Vico had there been so luminous an interpretation as to end the mystification of the ‘two cultures’.” (Mendo Castro Henriques, Professor of Philosophy, Lisbon Catholic University, (Portugal) in a letter to the author.)

4. On The Garden of Afflictions

*         “Few books have I read that made such interesting and beneficial reading as The Garden of Afflictions.”  (Josué Montello, president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.)

*         “Inexhaustible erudition and unflinching intellectual honesty. The trumpet call for the resurrection of Brazilian independent thought.” (Bruno Tolentino, prominent Brazilian poet, in the preface to Prof. de Carvalho’s influential book The Garden of Afflictions.)

*         “A wonderful book, a burst of light in the darkness.” (Leopoldo Serran, Jornal do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, September 6, 1996.)

*         “If his work distinguishes itself from the shallow and pedantic prose of contemporary philosophies, it is mainly for its lively and good humored style, for its generous erudition and for its tireless search for intellectual honesty.” (Antônio Fernando Borges, Jornal do Brasil, January 6, 1996.)

*         “Rich and profound erudition, as can be seen in his philosophical essays The Literary Genres and Aristotle in a New Perspective, both succinct, concise, conceptually rigorous and guided by a refined logical method.” (Vamireh Chacon, Professor of Political Science at the University of Brasilia, Jornal de Brasília, January 22, 1996.)

5. On The Collective Imbecile

*        “An indispensable book. Demand it from your bookseller!” (Paulo Francis, O Globo and O Estado de S. Paulo, July 28, 1996.)

*         “An appalling intelligence and an unsurpassable mastery of its subject.” (Ângelo Monteiro, Diário de Pernambuco, November 23, 1996.)

6. On the Introduction to Otto Maria Carpeaux’s Collected Essays

*         “An extensive, profound and beautiful introduction. Never having met him personally, Olavo de Carvalho probed very deeply into Carpeaux’s intellectual drama.” (Edson Nery da Fonseca)

*         “A rich critical outlook of an important moment of Brazilian intellectual history.” (Carlos Heitor Cony, preface to Ensaios Reunidos de Otto Maria Carpeaux, vol. I. (Rio, Topbooks, 1999.)

7. American Praise for the Work of Olavo de Carvalho

* “Professor Carvalho has been one of the most astute analysts of Brazilian politics. He has courageously attacked official corruption and its broader cultural consequences. He has been a strong defender of the interests of the United States and a critic of simpleminded anti-Americanism. His is an important voice in hemispheric political debates.” (Bryan McCann, Georgetown University, History Department, Associate Professor).

* “I have known Olavo de Carvalho and his work since the spring of 2006. At that time, I had the pleasure to edit his very fine manuscript, entitled “Aristotle in a New Perspective”. After editing the manuscript, I took the uncharacteristic step of forwarding it (with the author's permission) to a few of my former professors at the University of Notre Dame. I did so because I was quite certain that the manuscript marked a highly original contribution to our understanding of Aristotle — which is no easy feat, given the sheer volume of scholarship surrounding this ancient thinker.” (Jodi Bruhn, Ph.D. Research Fellow, Institute On Governance, Ottawa, Canada).