In his Essais, Montaigne stresses that his theoretical interest in philosophy goes hand in hand with its practicality. In fact, he makes it clear that there is little reason to live our lives according to doctrine without proof that others have successfully done so. Understanding Montaigne’s philosophical thought, therefore, means not only studying the philosophies of the great thinkers, but also the characters and ways of life of the philosophers themselves. The focus of Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers: Life Writing and Transversality in the Essais is how Montaigne assembled the lives of the philosophers on the pages of his Essais in order to grapple with two fundamental aims of his project: first, to transform the teaching of moral philosophy, and next, to experiment with a transverse construction of his self. Both of these objectives grew out of a dialogue with the structure and content in the life writing of Plutarch and Diogenes Laertius, authors whose books were bestsellers during the essayist’s lifetime.
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