Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers

Alison Calhoun is assistant professor of French at Indiana University.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Montaigne and TransversalityChapter 1: Montaigne’s Two PlutarchsPlutarch and the Lives as Moral PhilosophyComparison in the Sixteenth Century and Plutarch’s ParallelsComparison and KnowledgeParallel Lives of the PhilosophersMontaigne Parallel to the Philosophers Opposition and Discussion: Montaigne and La Boétie Chapter 2: Assembling Strange Flowers: Montaigne and Diogenes LaertiusDoxographer, Poet, BiographerMontaigne’s PassageMontaigne’s Philosophical TabloidsLowered Standards for Wisdom and Virtue: Stories of Hypocrisy and ConversionChapter 3: Montaigne’s PyrrhoSources for Montaigne’s PyrrhoThe Renaissance Transmission of the Life of Pyrrho In Search of a Livable Skepticism Pyrrho and Montaigne in the Same BoatA Language of Humanness Chapter 4: The Deaths of the PhilosophersGetting Used to Death: Montaigne’s Brother, The Riding Accident, La Boétie“The Bottom of the Pot”: Unmasking and Speaking Plain French Philosophers in Pain: Seneca and EpicurusA “Reasonable Exit”: Socrates and Diogenes of SinopeChapter 5: The Fabrication of Michel de MontaigneMarie de Gournay’s Transverse Self The Vie de Montaigne and the Honnête Homme The Pierre Coste Edition: Continuing the Essay ProjectConclusion: Montaigne’s Transverse Self BibliographyIndexAbout the Author