Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers

Life Writing and Transversality in the Essais

Alison Calhoun

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.

University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press

Pages: 212 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-1-61149-479-2 • Hardback • December 2014 • $92.00 • (£65.00)

978-1-61149-553-9 • Paperback • August 2016 • $41.99 • (£27.95)

978-1-61149-480-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $39.50 • (£24.95)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / Renaissance, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Literary Criticism / European / French, Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Philosophy / Criticism

Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers

Life Writing and Transversality in the Essais

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

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.

Details

University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press

Pages: 212 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜

978-1-61149-479-2 • Hardback • December 2014 • $92.00 • (£65.00)

978-1-61149-553-9 • Paperback • August 2016 • $41.99 • (£27.95)

978-1-61149-480-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $39.50 • (£24.95)

Subjects: Literary Criticism / Renaissance, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Literary Criticism / European / French, Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Philosophy / Criticism

Author

Alison Calhoun is assistant professor of French at Indiana University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Montaigne and Transversality

Chapter 1: Montaigne’s Two Plutarchs
Plutarch and the Lives as Moral Philosophy
Comparison in the Sixteenth Century and Plutarch’s Parallels
Comparison and Knowledge
Parallel Lives of the Philosophers
Montaigne Parallel to the Philosophers
Opposition and Discussion: Montaigne and La Boétie

Chapter 2: Assembling Strange Flowers: Montaigne and Diogenes Laertius
Doxographer, Poet, Biographer
Montaigne’s Passage
Montaigne’s Philosophical Tabloids
Lowered Standards for Wisdom and Virtue: Stories of Hypocrisy and Conversion

Chapter 3: Montaigne’s Pyrrho
Sources for Montaigne’s Pyrrho
The Renaissance Transmission of the Life of Pyrrho
In Search of a Livable Skepticism
Pyrrho and Montaigne in the Same Boat
A Language of Humanness

Chapter 4: The Deaths of the Philosophers
Getting 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 Epicurus
A “Reasonable Exit”: Socrates and Diogenes of Sinope
Chapter 5: The Fabrication of Michel de Montaigne
Marie de Gournay’s Transverse Self
The Vie de Montaigne and the Honnête Homme
The Pierre Coste Edition: Continuing the Essay Project

Conclusion
: Montaigne’s Transverse Self
Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers

Life Writing and Transversality in the Essais

Alison Calhoun

Montaigne and the Lives of the Philosophers

Life Writing and Transversality in the Essais

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