This is the very strange case of Bruno Borges. On March 24, 2017, 24-year-old Brazilian philosophy student Bruno Borges went missing. Borges was a bit of an eccentric, and his activities before his mysterious disappearance led to a lot of speculation about the reasons for his sudden vanishing.

Giordano Bruno

The bizarre case of Bruno Borges — Wikipedia

Before we begin examining the bizarre life of Bruno Borges, it is important to discuss another eccentric philosopher: Giordano Bruno. Bruno was a 14th-century Italian friar known for his controversial cosmological theories. He was one of the first to suggest that stars were actually distant suns with planets of their own and that these planets could possibly have their own life.

In 1593, Bruno was tried for heresy by the Roman Inquisition. Bruno was a pantheist who questioned the Catholic doctrines of eternal damnation, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the virginity of Mary, and transubstantiation. He was found guilty and burned at the stake.

After his death, Bruno was considered a martyr for science and free thought. To this day, his case is often used as an example of the overreach of religion and its tendency to silence dissenters.

The Life of Bruno Borges

The life and theories of Giordano Bruno are important because Bruno Borges believed that he himself was a reincarnation of the ancient philosopher. Borges believed that he was far more gifted than regular people and that his previous life as a respected scientist was part of the reason why. Borges’ beliefs were similar to Bruno’s and the two even share an uncanny physical resemblance. The fact that the two share the name of “Bruno” served as further proof for Bruno Borges that he and Giordano Bruno were one and the same.

Giordano Bruno was well-known for his theory of cosmic pluralism: the belief that other planets, perhaps an infinite number of them, could be home to intelligent extraterrestrial life. It is this same belief that drove Bruno Borges. He sought to discover answers to the most important questions of the universe.

Borges’ family, many of whom were interviewed after his disappearance, all stated that he had been highly intelligent all his life. His mother told interviewers that he read constantly as a child, so much that it actually worried her. She stated that he would often read things that seemed far too advanced for him; she claims that he had even read the entire Bible and all of Shakespeare’s works.

In his earlier life, Borges wrote a series of five books. It is unclear what the subjects of these works were; Borges attempted to get one of the books patented, but was unsuccessful.

Secretive Work

In the months before Bruno Borges disappeared, his family noted some slightly unusual behavior. According to his mother, he approached her to ask for money. He stated that he was in the process of working on an important project and that he needed some additional funds to move forward with it. When she asked him what it was that he was working on, his answer was vague. He told her that he was writing a series of 14 books that would completely change the world. His mother was concerned, but he assured her that his work would change humanity for the better.

Borges’ mother was still hesitant about his project. She told him that unless he provided her with additional details about what he was doing, she wouldn’t give him the money that he requested. Borges told her that the details of the project were top secret, so she refused to give him any money to do further work on his mysterious project.

When she refused to supply him with funding for his secret work, Borges asked his mother to instead allow him to stop working outside of the home so that he could devote his time to whatever secret project had him enthralled. His mother was again concerned, even consulting with a doctor to make sure that he wasn’t suffering from any type of mental health issues. The doctor assured her that her son was of sound mind, so she gave him permission to give up working to focus on his own endeavors. She later discovered that he had managed to secure a loan of 20,000 reais (approximately 6,000 US dollars) from a cousin to fund his work.