Paper short abstract:

This paper undertakes a panorama of authors that constitute what can be called “Portuguese Philosophical Orientalism”. The focus of this paper lies on the way that portuguese philosophical essayists regarded religious phenomena such as Buddhism and Hinduism.

Paper long abstract:

This paper undertakes a panorama of authors that constitute what can be called "Portuguese Philosophical Orientalism". The focus of this paper lies on the way that, in the colonial nineteenth-century Portugal, portuguese philosophical essayists regarded religious phenomena such as Buddhism and Hinduism. Their perceptions of such phenomena developed original conceptions in the context of Philosophy of Religion, connected with a reavaluation of Christianity and a philosophical reconsideration of the concept of Universality. Renouned scholars, for instance, such as Vasconcelos Abreu and Latino Coelho were responsible for comparative projects between Classical Greek Culture and Hinduism. Others, such as Teofilo Braga, were opening windows to the Orient through Positivism. Ouside of the Academia, there were also other authors, such as Silva Mendes, working with a more philological and etnographical perspective. We will also aproach the phenomenon of Neo-buddhist constructs, such as those of Antero de Quental or Oliveira martins.