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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.

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University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press
Pages: 216 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜
978-1-61149-479-2 • Hardback • December 2014 • $114.00 • (£88.00)
978-1-61149-553-9 • Paperback • August 2016 • $52.99 • (£41.00)
978-1-61149-480-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
Subjects: Literary Criticism / Renaissance, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Literary Criticism / European / French, Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Philosophy / Criticism
Alison Calhoun is assistant professor of French at Indiana University.
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

Cover Image
Hardback
Paperback
eBook
Summary
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
Details
  • University Press Copublishing Division / University of Delaware Press
    Pages: 216 • Trim: 6½ x 9⅜
    978-1-61149-479-2 • Hardback • December 2014 • $114.00 • (£88.00)
    978-1-61149-553-9 • Paperback • August 2016 • $52.99 • (£41.00)
    978-1-61149-480-8 • eBook • December 2014 • $50.00 • (£38.00)
    Subjects: Literary Criticism / Renaissance, Biography & Autobiography / Philosophers, Literary Criticism / European / French, Literary Criticism / European / Italian, Philosophy / Criticism
Author
Author
  • Alison Calhoun is assistant professor of French at Indiana University.
Table of Contents
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



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