Despite his practice of recounting anecdotes about himself, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) failed to learn much from introspection. In fact, he often misunderstood his own motives or drew the wrong lessons.
I attribute Montaigne’s constant references to introspection to self-aggrandisement, not to philosophical wisdom. He spent twenty years writing his essays, and many of those, include an anecdote about Montaigne’s personal life.
However, Montaigne almost never draws a clear conclusion from those anecdotes. He tells us “this happened to me,” but then rambles about possible interpretations. He goes into one direction, but then reverses course, leaving readers in the dark about the point he was trying to make.
In his essay “On practice,” Montaigne declared that he was studying himself more than he was studying any other person or subject. I must though clarify that, when he says “studying myself,” he mostly means “studying my own emotions.”
Why do I think that Montaigne was rather ineffective at introspection? Because, during the two decades he devoted to writing, he didn’t improve his lifestyle in any meaningful way.
Montaigne’s introspection and self-development
Take for instance his essay “On repentance.” Montaigne is telling us that he is turning his gaze inward and keeping busy with introspection. “While everybody else is looking ahead, I prefer to look inside myself,” he writes.
Fair enough, but what lessons does Montaigne draw from his introspection? Most of the time, none; and occasionally, an insignificant recommendation that he’ll fail to put into practice anyway.
I’m not exaggerating in the least. Introspection is a tool, not a pastime for unemployed souls. It is a method for identifying our own fears and motives, not for bragging about how clever we are.
Montaigne repeatedly states that he has learned very little or nothing from his introspection. More often than not, he comes to the conclusion that all humans are fools, unable to improve their own lives.
In his essay “On experience,” Montaigne belittles all lessons we could potentially draw from past mistakes because, he says, “we must learn that all humans are fools.”
I regard such a statement as demotivating, discouraging and false. I strongly oppose Montaigne’s view that all humans are fools, unable to correct course and improve their own lives.
In making such a statement, Montaigne is overlooking vast numbers of historical examples that demonstrate the contrary. I think he was just trying to present himself as modest, humble, somewhat ineffective country gentleman who is not better than anybody else.
Montaigne’s relativism and scepticism constitute symptoms of self-aggrandisement. They are forms of virtue signalling. He is telling us that he has worked very hard at introspection for twenty years, only to learn that introspection is worthless and that we are all fools anyway.
Michel de Montaigne’s essay “On solitude”
Despite his erroneous conclusions in most cases, Montaigne sometimes got it right. His essay “On solitude” provides a rare example of thoughtful introspection followed by a hundred per cent accurate conclusion.
In this essay, Montaigne is arguing that solitude constitutes a prerequisite of critical thinking, personal growth, happiness, and sanity.
Montaigne is employing the term “solitude” to mean silence and self-reliance. He didn’t imply that we should relocate to an inhabited mountain or desert in order to attain happiness. He is not advising readers to drop everything and become hermits in some god-forgotten wilderness.
The examples given by Montaigne in this essay supplement nicely his own practice of introspection. He had the habit of retiring each day for some hours to the tower of his farmhouse. This habit enabled him to carry out his philosophical research.
I am not saying that Montaigne’s philosophical research was accurate or successful, but I regard it as a fact that, without his daily retirement habit, Montaigne would have proved unable to carry out his research.
Montaigne was securing a silent, quiet space to learn, think, and record his conclusions in writing. Each of us can adopt a similar practice, even if we do not live in a farmhouse. In order to learn philosophy, there is no need of a philosopher’s tower.
The examples mentioned by Montaigne include Epicurus (341-270 BC), who had advised a quiet, modest lifestyle as part of his recipe for happiness. For Epicurus, self-reliance and silence are required for peace of mind and happiness.
Montaigne is also quoting Seneca (4-65 AD), whose letters had repeatedly called for retreating from public life in order to protect one’s sanity, virtue, and peace of mind. For Seneca, it is crucial to secure a space of quietness, where we can retire from time to time for seeking “serenity in the midst of turmoil.”
Montaigne’s introspection and silence
Montaigne is correct in advising regular periods of silence, which can help enhance our self-reliance. He suggests that we imitate the lifestyle of Pythagoras (570-495 BC), who favoured regular periods of silence and thinking.
For Pythagoras, those periods of silence are essential for the development of one’s intellect. Without silence, our mind gets distracted by the rush of daily life, preventing us from learning new things.
Nonetheless, Montaigne does not recommend taking silence and solitude to extremes. His preference was a daily period of solitude devoted to reading, thinking and writing. He does not endorse the example of St. Anthony (251-356 AD), who chose to live in the desert alone for years, devoting himself to prayer.
Six centuries after Montaigne wrote his essay “On solitude,” social commentators have coined the term “sigma personality” to define individuals who quietly pursue their own interests.
Montaigne regarded self-reliance as the greatest thing in the world. It involves “abandoning popular fashions and opinions,” but provides the rewards of independence, effectiveness, peace of mind, and happiness.
The key importance of self-reliance is the only lesson that Montaigne drew from introspection, but it is invaluable. Let us adopt the habit of “withdrawing from the daily rush,” so that it becomes easier to secure happiness and peace of mind.
If you are interested in putting rational principles into daily practice, I recommend you my book “Rational living, rational working.”