Writer, professor and economist Eduardo Giannetti da Fonseca took office today (12), in chair number 2 of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL), succeeding philosopher and professor Tarcísio Padilha, who died on September 9 of last year. The previous occupants of chair 2 were Coelho Neto (founder), João Neves da Fontoura, João Guimarães Rosa and Mário Palmério. 
Giannetti is a reference in topics such as ethics and philosophy. He is the author of several books and articles, some of which have been translated into other languages. He won the Jabuti Prize twice: the first time, in 1994, for “Private vices, public benefits?” and the second, in 1995, for the book “As parte & o todo”. He was awarded the Economist of the Year award by the São Paulo Economists Association in 2004.
In his inaugural speech, Gianetti said that “we have duties and responsibilities towards those who preceded us and, no less, towards those who come after us. If memory is the transmission belt of the spirit between the past and the present, imagination creator is the bridge capable of leading us to the future. This is the immortality that matters.”
In an interview before the inauguration, Giannetti told Brazil Agency that intends to act, mainly, in the editorial part of the ABL. “I want to help ABL produce academic and commented editions of great Brazilian classics. This is my project”.
The new academic commented that many important Brazilian authors and works are not available today in a catalog or in editions that “do justice to the importance of these works for the national culture”. Eduardo Giannetti did not want to mention, however, any specific author or work.
The author stated that there is a deficit in the Brazilian bibliography of careful, critical and commented editions of books that are essential in cultural and literary history. They are, in this case, authors of literature, philosophy and poetry, he mentioned.
A scholar of European culture, Giannetti observes that among English authors, for example, there are very careful works, which have become references. “All scholars refer to the same edition, which is canonical. I think that, in Brazil, we will still have to build this”.
Biography
Eduardo Gianetti was born in Belo Horizonte, on February 23, 1957. He is an economist, professor, author and lecturer, graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting (FEA) and in Social Sciences from the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences (FFLCH). ), both from the University of São Paulo (USP). He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge (1987). He is currently a professor at Ibmec Educacional. He was also a professor of economics at the Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa (Insper), at FEA-USP (1988-1999) and at the University of Cambridge (1984-1987).
