Montaigne on Life

Author: Montaigne
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Montaigne was one of the greatest writers in French history in the sixteenth century. Montaigne had dedicated himself to ancient moral philosophy and history, but under the influence of skepticism, he gradually turned toward self-study. He became famous largely due to this self-study and its resulting political, religious, and philosophical consequences. This French thinker, who independently reflected on moral and psychological issues, published the renowned work Essays. Montaigne emphasized the necessity of tolerance within a new humanism that transcends education, class, nationality, and race. Essays is also celebrated for its unrestrained, vivid, and powerful style. He used metaphors and free association as antidotes to formal rhetoric and systematic philosophy. Montaigne firmly opposed systematic thinking (especially the scholastic philosophy that was dominant at the time) and developed a method of gaining knowledge about himself and the world through introspection and self-examination.