A philosopher and essayist, he first studied mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, then moved to France, where he graduated in philosophy at the Sorbonne University. After obtaining a master's degree and a doctorate in the same field, he became Coordinator of the Psychoanalysis and Philosophy department at the University of Paris VIII, while also working as a scientific translator for the OECD.
In 1976, he returned to Portugal to take up the post of assistant to the Secretary of State for Higher Education and Scientific Research. After several years of teaching in secondary schools, he was invited to teach at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He left in 2010, remaining at the university as a Lead Researcher.
He directed the publisher Relógio D'Água’s Philosophy Collection and published several articles and scientific essays in national and international magazines and encyclopaedias. His 2004 essay «The Fear of Existing» earned him a position on the French weekly «Le Nouvel Observateur’s» list of the world's 25 great thinkers. He was also awarded the P.E.N. Clube Português Essay Prize (2005) and the Vergílio Ferreira Prize (2012).