Essays originally written in Portuguese and thoughtfully adapted for English-speaking audiences. These pieces preserve the distinct perspective of Portuguese philosophical tradition while making core ideas accessible across cultural contexts.
Categorizing capabilities as “hard” or “soft” skills fragments what is fundamentally whole. This artificial division reflects a philosophy that reduces humans to skill assemblages rather than integrated beings, potentially blinding us to the qualities that make us fully human.
In our digital age of endless chatter, true conversation has become rare. Perhaps our most radical act is to cultivate silence—not as absence, but as the fertile ground where genuine connection grows. When we learn to be alone well, we discover how to be with others deeply.
Conversation’s greatest value emerges when we abandon the pursuit of utility. Like art or contemplation, its importance lies in its apparent uselessness—creating meaning and connection that transcends instrumental purpose.
In the laboratory of love, chemistry gets the credit, but physics governs our connections. While poets speak of burning passion and hearts growing cold, couples negotiate a more literal thermal equilibrium—where compatibility is measured in degrees Celsius (or Fahrenheit).
From Lisbon's sloping streets to open countryside, rain transforms ordinary landscapes into sensory marvels. A contemplation of how water shapes our experiences—and how we can simultaneously cherish something while longing for its absence.
Emotional bureaucracy—the internalization of administrative logic into our most intimate psychological processes—transforms how we experience life itself. We become both bureaucrat and bureaucratized, simultaneously administering and being administered by our own hearts.
