TY - JOUR T1 - Uma Filosofia <em>Buissonnieuse</em>, ou de como o narrador desce as escadas JF - Luso-Brazilian Review JO - Luso-Braz Rev SP - 87 LP - 116 DO - 10.1353/lbr.2008.0014 VL - 44 IS - 2 AU - Pedro Schacht Pereira Y1 - 2007/12/01 UR - http://lbr.uwpress.org/content/44/2/87.abstract N2 - In this article I address a long-standing issue in Machadian studies, that of the relationship between philosophy and literature in the fiction of Machado de Assis. I start by acknowledging my indebtedness to the studies that Abel Barros Baptista has recently dedicated to the Brazilian author. In his article, “A Reforma Hermenêutica: Acerca da legibilidade de Dom Casmurro,” Baptista implies an anti-hermeneutical reading of Machado’s novels and short stories in order to advocate for a “hermeneutical reform.” With his contribution in mind, I proceed to question the theoretical and critical presuppositions of some of the most canonical readings that have been proposed to address the focus of this essay. I conclude by proposing a reading of the short story “O espelho: Esboço de uma nova teoria da alma humana,” which exemplifies the principles that I sustain as being indispensable for addressing the issue of the relationship between philosophy and literature, that is, the philosophical relevance of literature as much as the literary relevance of philosophy. ER -