Philosophy, Nature and Skepticism in Michel de Montaigne
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61378/h1eq7614Keywords:
montaigne, philosophy, vanity, nature, SkepticismAbstract
In his essay Of Cannibals, Michel de Montaigne recounts the life of a South American indigenous people. In his reflections, he highlights, with a positive view, a certain type of natural wisdom that shapes the social relationships of the tribe, which could suggest that he presents it as a knowledge worth imitating. Against this apparent idealization, we will argue that Montaigne's philosophical proposal is nourished by the wisdom he emphasizes in the indigenous people, but only under a skeptical critique. As in The Essays, his reflections on this type of wisdom also serve as a critique of European culture, and we believe it is necessary to incorporate the thoughts Montaigne develops on the practice of philosophy in his time. To achieve our objective, we will first present the accusations Montaigne makes regarding the vain way in wich philosophy is understood in France during his era. Secondly, we will analyze his reflections on the life experience of the indigenous people, which we will call "natural wisdom." Lastly, we will outline how Montaigne reappropriates this wisdom through a critique of a Pyrrhonian tone, where self-knowledge and the body play a central role.
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