Biographical Information

I was born in Lucélia, SP, Brazil, on September 7, 1943 (September 7 is Brazil's Independence Day). My father was a Presbyterian minister (Presbyterian Church of Brazil) of a very conservative bent, whose main legacy to me has been a rather argumentative personality and a concern with always justifying my beliefs, values and actions. (My father died on March 5, 1991, on the eve of his 80th birthday).

I attended elementary and middle ("junior high") school in Santo André, SP, Brazil, and high school at the Instituto "José Manuel da Conceição" (JMC), in Jandira, SP, Brazil, a boarding school related to the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, which was closed by the church at the end of 1968 for reasons which have not been made clear to this day.

When the time came to choose a line of study in higher education, and, naturally, a profession, my father's interests influenced me and I decided to study theology and become a minister. From 1964 through 1966 I attended the Southern Presbyterian Seminary (SPS) in Campinas, SP, Brazil (city in which I now live). The Seminary faculty, with one or two exceptions, were very conservative, theologically and politically, and among the students there were some (admittedly, a minority) who were quite reactionary (once again, theologically and politically). Things being what they were, I had what I consider the good fortune of being expelled from the school in 1966 for mainly two reasons: (a) espousing unorthodox theories (mostly Rudolf Bultmann's!) about religion and theology; (b) publishing, in the school paper, of which I was the editor, a passionate defense, based on John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, of the right to freedom of thought and  expression. The year of 1966 was what I then thought to be the heyday of Brazil's military dictatorship and of the Brazilian Presbyterian Church's ecclesiastical authoritarianism and theological backwardness: my bravery almost cost me the temporary end, if not of my own freedom, at least of my studies. (Of course, I was quite wrong, on both counts, about 1966 being the "heyday": the situation in the country and in the church would still become much worse as the sixties came to a close and the seventies began -- but then I was fortunately out of reach, in both cases).

After being expelled from the Presbyterian Seminary in Campinas, I moved to the South of Brazil and managed to be admitted into the Lutheran Seminary in São Leopoldo, RS, which belongs to the Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confession in Brazil. (The Seminary belongs today to the Higher School of Theology). There, in 1967, I completed four years of undergraduate education. In São Leopoldo Bultmann was well accepted, Lutheran that he was. The time spent there also helped me develop my German (which I had been studying ever since coming to Campinas), since all classes were still held in German at that time.

The intellectual environment provided by the Lutheran Seminary was quite stimulating. Despite that, or, more probably, because of that, my personal ties with the institutional church, and with religion in general, ended around the time I was in São Leopoldo -- without traumas and with a great sense of relief. My interest in religion as a social phenomenon and in theology as an intellectual discipline have, nevertheless, continued. (In all of this I, in a sense, modestly mirrored David Hume, about whose thought I eventually wrote my Ph.D. dissertation: he parted with the Church without traumas, both for ecclesiastical and theological reasons; for a while he did not recognize that he was an atheist, although that is what he was; and he for ever maintained an interest in religion as a social phenomenon and in theology as an intellectual discipline -- even if only to criticize them).

While in São Leopoldo I was quite fortunate to receive a full, three-year scholarship from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS), in Pittsburgh, PA, to take my Master's Degree there. To enable me to enjoy the scholarship at PTS I applied for travel support to the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States (NCCCUS), and was, once again, quite fortunate to receive the help I requested. The scholarship at PTS was obtained through the effort of Prof. Dr. Rev. Gordon Eugene Jackson, then Academic Dean of the school, and today a very dear friend (living in St. Petersburg, FL). The support from NCCCUS was obtained through the effort of Rev. Aharon Sapsezian, then Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Association of Evangelical Theological Schools (ASTE), and today another very dear friend (living in Geneva, the adopted homeland of John Calvin). Aharon not only suggested to me that I apply to NCCCUS but also saw to it that I got a favorable reply. I publicly express my gratitude to these two friends.

While at PTS, from mid-1967 to mid-1970, I earned a Master's Degree in the History of Christian Thought (May of 1970). At PTS it was my good fortune to study under such intellectual luminaries as Dietrich Ritschl (the grandson of the famous nineteenth-century German theologian, Albrecht Ritschl, and himself a great specialist in the History of Modern Western Thought, who made me for ever interested in intellectual history), Ford Lewis Battles (a specialist in Medieval Thought, the Renaissance and the Reformation, who almost made me a historian of medieval thought), Markus Barth (the son of the great twentieth-century Swiss theologian, Karl Barth), Hans Eberhard von Waldow (who had taught at São Leopoldo prior to going to Pittsburgh), George H. Kehm (a Systematic Theologian, whose Research Assistant I became), etc. My GPA (Grade Point Average) while working for my Master's was good enough for me to receive seven prizes and scholarships at the end of my three years at PTS, one of which was a full scholarship to continue my studies and pursue my Ph.D..

So, in the Fall of 1970 I entered the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), also in Pittsburgh, PA, to work for my Ph.D.. The main focus of my Ph.D. was to be in Philosophy, since I was quite interested in the epistemology of science (or Philosophy of Science), and Pitt was the very best in this area at that time. However, I still kept my interest in the epistemology of religion. These two interests made me gravitate towards William W. Bartley, III, whose research and published works dealt with these two subjects.

After studying theology for a time at Harvard University, Bill Bartley went to the London School of Economics (LSE) to study under Karl Raymund Popper. He eventually became a well known disciple of Popper's. Under the circumstances I was constrained to read virtually everything Popper had ever published (and even some then unpublished manuscripts to which he had access and of which he later became the editor). After some ups and downs in his relationship with Popper, Bill definitively became the beloved disciple again and was annointed with the envied task of managing Popper's intellectual legacy (and, later, also von Hayek's). In view of this, I think I can rightly consider myself one of Popper's spiritual grandchildren. Bill's untimely death in 1990 (February 5) was a reason for great sorrow. I lost someone who not only was, for several years, my mentor, but who until his death remained a good friend. Popper's death (in 1994) was also deeply felt -- although it was not in any way untimely (he was born in 1902). (The relationship between Popper and Bartley is well and rather accurately described in an interesting article, The Ethical Roots of Popper's Epistemology, by Mariano Artigas ).

Under Bill Bartley's firm advice I earned my doctorate in near-record time, in August of 1972, with a 615-page dissertation on David Hume. I wanted to go on polishing my would-be masterpiece for some time more, but Bill did not let me: he virtually forced me to defend the dissertation the way it was.

At Pitt I was also rather privileged to study under the late Wilfrid Sellars, who sat on my Ph.D. committee. The home page dedicated to him at the University of Chicago quotes Keith Lehrer as saying that "Sellars [was] one of the most important philosophical writers of the century, perhaps of any century". He was a fabulous teacher, too. I initially attended his seminar on Kant and his seminar on Classical Issue on Metaphysics and Epistemology. The courses were so good that I started attending every class he gave, even the introductory courses at the undergraduate level. Most of what I know of Analytic Philosophy I owe to him. Other good teachers that I had at Pitt were Nicholas Rescher (Logic and Epistemologyy), Richard Gale (Metaphysics, Philosophy of Time, Analytic Philosophy), Kurt Baier (Ethics), Joseph Kemp (British Empiricists), and Marylin Frye (Kant). Looking back I can see why Pitt's Philosophy Department was considered the best in the nation during the years I was there.

After receiving my Ph.D. I taught Philosophy for a couple of years in California, first at the California State University at Hayward, in Hayward (1972-1973), and, then, at Pomona College, one of the Claremont Colleges, in Claremont (1973-1974). Fortunately, political correctness was not yet the norm in the American academic scene at that time.

At Pomona I had one of the most thrilling intellectual experiences of my life: reading Ayn Rand for the first time. The experience made me a different person. I am forever thankful to my then colleague at Pomona, Prof. Dr. Charles King, now at the Liberty Fund, for bringing Atlas Shrugged to my attention. Ever since that time, in 1973, Ayn Rand has been my intellectual, ethical and political mentor, although my relationship with her can hardly be said to have the fervor of those for whom Objectivism is a cult -- when I met Ayn Rand I had already had my full share of religion. But Ayn Rand remains the single strongest and most abiding influence on my intellectual, ethical and political views.

Altogether, I spent seven years in the United States (August 1967 through June 1974), without returning to Brazil even once. The political climate in Brazil during these years was such that I would have hardly regretted spending those years abroad even if they had not been the most fruitful years in my life.

In 1974 I returned to Brazil to teach at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), in Campinas, SP, where I am still teaching Philosophy (Epistemology, Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Education). For a while, in the eighties, I got involved with university administration and even with university politics.

While at UNICAMP, teaching Theory of Knowledge, Political Philosophy and Philosophy of Education in the School of Education (of which I was the Director from 1980 through 1984), I became interested in the use of computers in education -- more in learning than in teaching, to tell the truth. This got me, around 1981, into a side track that eventually became a main interest: computers and their applications, first in education, then in health, and finally in business. I created at UNICAMP, in 1983, the Nucleus of Informatics Applied to Education (NIED), which I directed until April, 1986.

From April 1986 to the end of 1989 I was loaned by UNICAMP to the State Government of São Paulo. From April 1986 to March 1987, I was Director of the Center of Information on Education (CIE) of the Secretariat of Education for the State of São Paulo. From March 1987 to the end of 1988, I was Director of the Center of Health Information (CIS) of the Secretariat of Health for the State of São Paulo. This position got me in contact with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the PanAmerican Health Organization (PAHO), to which I have been a Consultant on several occasions since 1988. During 1989 was Director of Publications of the Secretariat of Health for the State of São Paulo.

At the beginning of 1990 I returned to UNICAMP. In 1992, through a special authorization, I became part of the small group (led by Prof. Dr. Maurício Prates de Campos Filho) that helped create the Graduate Program in Information Systems Management at the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUCCAMP), also in Campinas, SP. After the program was standing on its own feet, I returned full time to UNICAMP.

In the early eighties I became a consultant to People Computação, in Campinas, SP, a computer training school. That company produced, at the end of 1994, a spin-off, People Brasil Informática, that managed and supported the Network of People Franchises and I became a partner and then the President of that company. In March of 1998 the two companies ended their relationship and the franchises went back to the original company.

Before that happened I created, in 1997, PBR Informática, a company specialized in educational technology that develops instructional and self-learning materials for schools and other institutions involved in training people to master the computer as a tool. This  company operates in the market under the fantasy name Mindware  Technologies.

In 1999 I had the good fortune of being invited to work as a consultant to the Ayrton Senna Institute, an ONG founded by the family of Ayrton Senna's, the great Formula 1 racer who prematurely died in 1994. I am still there, helping with the Program "Your School at 2000 per Hour". 

On a more personal side, I am married to Sueli, four children (Patrícia, Andrea, Rodrigo and Tatiana, from the youngest to the oldest) and two grandchildren (Gabriel and Olivia, born, respectively, in 1999 and 2002). 

Patrícia, the yongest, born in 1975, is a dentist (a graduate from the Universidade São Francisco - USF, in Bragança Paulista, SP, Brazil). She works in Campinas, now, where she also is a Master's student in the School of Medicine of the University of Campinas. She is engaged to Rubens Frota de Moraes Salles, also a dentist, and their marriage is scheduled for March of 2003. They are at the moment joining their clinics.

Andrea, born in 1973, graduated from Grove City College, in Grove City, PA, with a major in marketing, and, today, is an independent financial consultant working with American Express in the area of Warren, OH, USA. Andrea was married to Richard Jeffrey Mathews, a marketing and sales manager, on July 3, 1998, and they live in Cortland, OH. They can be seen here. In March 2002 they gave me my first granddaughter, a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, for whom I am quite crazy! (see http://oliviamathews.com).

Rodrigo was born in 1971, is a computer engineer. He is a graduate of UNICAMP and now heads a software development company called Keysoftware. In September 2000 he married Adriana Tavares, a physiotherapist graduated (in 1999) from the Methodist University of Piracicaba (UNIMEP), Piracicaba, SP. They live in Campinas, SP.

Tatiana, born in 1969, is a civil engineer. She is a graduate of PUCCAMP and is also a partner of Keysoftware, where she works. Tatiana was married to Alexandre Montgomery Wild, a state prosecutor from Campinas, on February 1, 1997, and they live here in Campinas, not more than 10 minutes from where I live. On September 30, 1990, they had their first child and my first grandchild, Gabriel (see http://gabrielwild.com). I am crazy about him -- and I suspect the feeling is reciprocal... :-)

My wife, Sueli (née Atibaia), works at UNICAMP's Women's Hospital, where she coordinates technical support for the faculty. She is from Rio Claro, studied Education (Pedagogy) at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, Rio Claro, SP, at the Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, and at PUCCAMP, where she graduated. She completed all the credits for her Master's in Education at UNICAMP, but never wrote a dissertation.

Fernanda, Sueli's sister (and therefore my sister-in-law), grew up in part with us -- she is 20 years younger than Sueli and 24 years younger than I. She is a graduate of PUCCAMP, major in Communications, and she also works at UNICAMP's Women's Hospital. She is married to Gustavo Fraguas, a medical doctor, and they live in Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, SP, near Campinas. They had their first baby, João Vítor, on May 1st, 1999! They can be seen here, before the baby was born, and the first photos of the baby can be seen here. 

João Vítor, though literally a nephew, is considered, for practical purposes, our first grandchild - altough we have an endearing de facto granddaughter in our grandniece, Camila, who, however, lives rather far from us, in Londrina, PR, Brazil.

Before marrying Sueli I was married to Maria Luiza, from 1967 to 1974 (who, remarried to Elton Kuzsmaul, lives in Champion, OH). Andrea is my daughter from this marriage. Sueli was also married before, and Rodrigo and Tatiana are, biologically, her children from the first marriage. I helped to bring them up ever since they were little and consider them my children also, without reservations. Patrícia is, however, the only biological child of mine with Sueli. 

My mother, Edith, my brother, Flávio, and my sisters Priscila and Eliane live in Santo André, SP. My brother is married to Inês and they have two boys in their twenties: Flávio Júnior and César. My sister Eliane is married to João and they also have two sons in their twenties: Vítor and Diogo. My sister Priscila is unmarried.

Pictures of the whole family can be seen in http://www.picturetrail.com/chaves.

Information on my publications, current professional projects, present course work, and personal interests, as well as on how to contact me, can be found in different places in this Web. You can also leave me comments and suggestions regarding my Web site. For your information, I include also a list of Web pages that I, personally, find interesting and frequently visit.

Details about one's life are normally of interest only to oneself. If, despite this, you got as far as the end of this long page, you must be congratulated on your patience.

Last revised: 02 May 2004