Michel de Montaigne

Portrait of Michel de Montaigne, circa unknown

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Montaigne vers 1565 - portrait anonyme

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St Michel de Montaigne Château01

St Michel de Montaigne Tour03

Michel de Montaigne (28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592) was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight. Montaigne's stated design in writing, publishing, and revising the Essais over the period from approximately 1570 to 1592 was to record "some traits of my character and of my humours." The Essais were first published in 1580 and cover a wide range of topics.

Life

Michel de Montaigne was born in the Aquitaine region of France, on the family estate Château de Montaigne, in a town now called Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne, close to Bordeaux. The family was wealthy; his great-grandfather, Ramon Felipe Eyquem, had made a fortune as a herring merchant and had bought the estate in 1477, thus becoming the Lord of Montaigne. His father, Pierre Eyquem, was a French Catholic soldier in Italy for a time and he also had been the mayor of Bordeaux.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Montaigne was educated from a young age by a private tutor, using methods that were progressive at the time, which included learning Latin, Greek, and a thorough grounding in the classics. He was sent to the prestigious Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux, where he had influential teachers who would affect his life and views in later years. Montaigne would later study law in Toulouse and enter a career in the legal system. He was appointed as the counselor of the Court des Aides of Périgueux and later at the Parlement in Bordeaux (which was a high court). Montaigne was a member of the Parlement of Bordeaux from 1557 to 1570.

In 1571, Montaigne retired from public life and began his life of solitude in the tower of his château, where he devoted himself to reading, meditating, and writing. This period of his life was crucial in the development of his philosophical thoughts and the writing of his Essais.

Works

Montaigne's most famous work is the Essais, a collection of a large number of short subjective treatments of various topics published in 1580. The Essais are considered to be a mixture of a memoir and a meditation, and they use anecdotes and personal reflections as a way of understanding the world. The nature of the essays makes them a significant precursor to modern thought. Montaigne revised his Essais three times, with each edition growing in size and complexity.

Philosophy

Montaigne's philosophy can be summed up in the phrase "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?"). This motto, inscribed on a medallion in his library, represents the spirit of critical inquiry that characterized his work. He is known for his skeptical attitude and his unwillingness to accept information without personal examination and experience. Montaigne's skepticism is not absolute; rather, it's a tool for dispelling certainty, which he saw as a step towards achieving intellectual humility.

In his essays, Montaigne covers a wide range of topics, such as the nature of friendship, the importance of education, the folly of dogmatism, and the pursuit of happiness. He is also known for his reflections on the human condition, making him an early contributor to the field of psychology.

Legacy

Montaigne has had a significant influence on writers all over the world, including René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Albert Hirschman, William Shakespeare, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Essais have been studied as a literary work, but also for their philosophical content. Montaigne's thoughts and writings have been a subject of interest for scholars in various fields, including philosophy, history, psychology, and literature.