José Gil

A Portuguese philosopher and thinker born in 1939 in Lourenço Marques, Mozambique who has been a Yoga practitioner for 30 years. In 1957 he began studying at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, where he enrolled in Mathematical Sciences, continuing his studies in Paris from 1958. However, he realized that his preferred field was Philosophy and changed course, completing his degree in Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts in Paris, Sorbonne University in 1968, followed by a Master of Philosophy then a doctorate (1982, published as a book in 1988). From 1973 he was coordinator of the Department of Psychoanalysis and Philosophy at the University of Paris VIII and translated scientific texts.

In 1976 he returned to Portugal, becoming assistant to the Secretary of State for Higher Education and Scientific Research, eventually settling permanently in Portugal from 1981. He has taught in many settings: the New University of Lisbon, the International College of Philosophy in Paris, a school in Amsterdam and the University of São Paulo in Brazil.

He has published various articles and scientific essays, several books on yoga and works on the poet Fernando Pessoa. In 2004 he published Portugal, Hoje. O Medo de Existir, his first work written directly in Portuguese, which quickly became a success. In January 2005, the renowned French magazine ‘Le Nouvel Observateur’ included José Gil among the 25 great thinkers of the world.