Biography
Manuel Maria Carrilho was born in
Coimbra and lived in
Viseu until the age of 18. He is the son of Manuel Augusto Engrácia Carrilho, who served as
Civil Governor and Mayor of Viseu, and Maria do Céu Girão Ferreira. Carrilho has been married twice—first to Joana Morais Varela (1972-1984) and later to
Bárbara Guimarães (2003-2013). He is divorced and has four children: José Maria, born in 1974 from his first marriage; Maria, born in 1985 from his relationship with Ana Cristina Alves; and Dinis Maria and Carlota Maria, born in 2004 and 2010 respectively, from his second marriage. Carrilho's relationship with Bárbara Guimarães was tumultuous, beginning with a "false" marriage in August 2001 due to the discovery that she was still legally married. The marriage ended in a series of mutual accusations, including
domestic violence, for which both were initially indicted. While Bárbara Guimarães was later cleared of charges, Carrilho was prosecuted and stood trial in Lisbon's Criminal Court from January 2016 to December 2017, where he was acquitted. Guimarães appealed the acquittal twice, but Carrilho was re-acquitted in both instances, in rulings dated March 15, 2019, and October 21, 2020. However, in March 2022, he was convicted by the Court of Appeal. Carrilho detailed the events of this legal process in his 2024 book
Acuso, in which he argues that he was wrongly convicted. ==Academic career==
Academic career
Carrilho completed his secondary education in Viseu and graduated with a degree in
Philosophy from the Faculty of Letters of the
University of Lisbon in 1975. He earned a
Ph.D. in Contemporary Philosophy from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of the
NOVA University Lisbon in 1985, where he later became a
Regent-Professor in 1994. His research has focused primarily on the philosophy of knowledge and science, argumentation theory and rhetoric, communication, and political theory. Alongside his research and teaching, particularly in epistemology and contemporary philosophy, Carrilho has been involved with various national and international institutions and publications. He founded and directed the journals
Filosofia e Epistemologia (1979-1984) and
Crítica (1987-1993). He has also contributed to or directed several collective works, including
História e Prática das Ciências (1979),
Epistemologia – Posições e Críticas (1991),
Dicionário do Pensamento Contemporâneo (1991),
Retórica e Comunicação (1994),
La philosophie anglo-saxonne (1994),
Histoire de la rhétorique (1997), and
La rhétorique (2012). Additionally, he has written prefaces for works by
William James,
Marcel Gauchet and
Gilles Lipovetsky. For decades, Carrilho has been a
columnist for several newspapers, including
Público,
Expresso, and
Diário de Notícias, and has served as an analyst/commentator on various television channels, including
SIC,
SIC Notícias,
TVI, and
TVI24. == Political career ==
Political career
A member of the
Socialist Party since 1986, Carrilho was appointed
Minister of Culture in October 1995, a position he held until July 2000 under the
13th and
14th Constitutional Government led by
António Guterres. In 2000, Carrilho resigned from the government and took his seat in the
Assembly of the Republic as a deputy elected from the
Porto district. Later, in
2005, he was elected as a deputy from the
Viseu district. He participated in the Parliamentary Committees on Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and served as Vice-President of the Socialist Party's Parliamentary Group from 2002 to 2008. In 2005, he was the Socialist Party's candidate for the presidency of the
Lisbon City Council, a race won by the
Social Democratic Party (PSD). In late 2008, Carrilho was appointed Portugal's Ambassador to
UNESCO, a role he held until December 31, 2010. His tenure ended after a disagreement with
Prime Minister José Sócrates over the candidate to support in the UNESCO leadership race. Carrilho backed
Irina Bokova, who was ultimately elected, while Sócrates favored
Farouk Hosny, a candidate with a controversial record on freedom of expression under Egyptian dictator
Hosni Mubarak. == Publications ==
Publications
• Acuso - a Parcialidade da Justiça e a Impunidade de que Goza, Edições 70, 2024 • Razões e Paixões, Grácio Editor, 2023 • A Democracia no Seu Momento Apocalíptico, Grácio Editor, 2022 • Sem Retorno, Grácio Editor, 2021 • Ser Contemporâneo do seu Tempo, Guerra e Paz, 2017 • Pensar o que lá vem, Planeta, 2015, reprinted by Grácio Editor, 2021 • Virtudes do perspetivismo, Grácio Editor, 2013 • La Rhétorique (ed.), CNRS Éditions, 2012 • Pensar o Mundo (2 vols.), Grácio Editor, 2012 • De Olhos Bem Abertos, Sextante, 2011 • E Agora? Por uma Nova República, Sextante, 2010 • Sob o Signo da Verdade, Dom Quixote, 2006 • O Impasse Português, Notícias, 2005 • Crónicas Intempestivas, Temas e Debates, 2004 • A Política à Conversa, Notícias, 2003 • A Cultura no Coração da Política, Notícias, 2001 • O Estado da Nação, Notícias, 2001 (2nd ed. 2002) • Hipóteses de Cultura, Lisboa, Presença, 1999 • Histoire de la Rhétorique (co-author), Le Livre de Poche, 1998 (Portuguese translation: História da Retórica, Temas e Debates, 2002) • Major Trends in Argumentation Theory (ed.), Revue Int. de Philosophie, No. 2, 1966 • Aventuras da Interpretação, Presença, 1995 • Argumentation, Aesthetics and Rationality (ed.), Argumentation (Kluwer), No. 3/1995 • Metamorfoses da Cultura (ed.), Fundação Gulbenkian, 1995 • Filosofia, Difusão Cultural, 1994 (3rd ed. Quimera, 2001) (French translation: Rationalités, Hatier, 1997) • La Philosophie Anglo-Saxonne (co-author), PUF, 1994 (Portuguese translation: A filosofia das ciências, Presença, 1994) • Retórica e Comunicação (ed.), ASA, 1994 • Rhétoriques de la Modernité, PUF, 1992 (Portuguese version: Jogos de Racionalidade, ASA, 1994) • Epistemologia: posições e críticas (ed.), Fundação Gulbenkian, 1991 • Dicionário do Pensamento Contemporâneo (ed.), Dom Quixote, 1991 • Verdade, Suspeita e Argumentação, Presença, 1990 • Itinerários da Racionalidade, Dom Quixote, 1989 • Elogio da Modernidade, Presença, 1989 • Razão e Transmissão da Filosofia, IN-CM, 1987 • O Saber e o Método, IN-CM, 1982 • Dissidência e Nova Filosofia (ed.), Assírio e Alvim, 1979 • História e Prática das Ciências (ed.), A Regra do Jogo, 1979 == Honors and Awards ==