Vade tecum

eugenicist links between Monteiro Lobato and Friedrich Nietzsche

Abstract

Monteiro Lobato read, quoted and recommended Friedrich Nietzsche’s books, declaring him to be the greatest genius of modern philosophy. Both men lived in a context of the rise of biological thought and the development of eugenics. The writer, like the philosopher, manifested himself in different ways in favor of controlling human reproduction aiming a normative image of man. We emphasize that Lobato did not give himself completely to this thinking, maintaining a positive view of progress and positioning himself in favor of the expansion of prophylactic and therapeutic measures, in addition to having high regards for sanitary doctors and their attenuating role in the national misery.