John Vespasian

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    Michel de Montaigne and authenticity in writing

    The confusion between authenticity and subjectivity keeps exerting a negative influence on philosophy and literature. It is wrong to call an author “authentic” just because he is giving a personal opinion devoid of reasoning and unconnected to facts. When historians categorize the essays written by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) as “authentic,” they mean that those…

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    Michel de Montaigne and individualism

    I’m always puzzled when I meet individuals unable to make up their minds. They stay put in losing situations and keep going in the wrong direction. They say yes when they do not mean it, because they cannot gather the strength to say no. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was also puzzled by this situation. He…

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    Michel de Montaigne and self-awareness

    Self-awareness remains as rare a phenomenon nowadays as it has been in prior generations. It requires the ability to apply philosophical ideas in daily life, weighing them against social pressures, personal convenience, and short-term practicality. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was the first essayist in history to practise self-awareness systematically. He displayed enormous efforts to compare…

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    Critique of Michel de Montaigne’s cultural impact

    Sadly, the cultural impact of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) has been mostly detrimental. Why? Because intellectuals have retained the worst part of Montaigne’s ideas and forgotten his valuable insights. Am I exaggerating in my assessment? I do not think so. Let us look at three wrong Montaigne’s ideas that have taken root in popular culture,…

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    Montaigne’s cultural impact, especially on French literature

    After devoting twenty years of his life to writing essays, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) had developed great expectations for the future. He believed that his essays would appeal to a large public and influence future generations. History has proven Montaigne right but not in the manner he expected. His essays did find a large audience,…

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    Michel de Montaigne and the art of conversation

    Everybody can talk and put forward his ideas, but it requires alertness and subtlety to draw the best of conversations. In life, time and energies are limited, and conversation takes up a fair measure of those. How can we carry out conversations in ways that enable us to draw maximum benefit? Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)…

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    Lessons from Michel de Montaigne’s literary appreciation and criticism

    It is only recently that people have started to regard literary, historical, and philosophical studies as worthless. Parents warn their children against humanities studies, and instead, try to steer them towards medicine, law, or computer science. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was the living proof that, in prior centuries, people had regarded literature, history, and philosophy…

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    Michel de Montaigne’s literary appreciation and criticism

    Due to their heterogeneous subjects, the essays of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) cannot be easily summarised in quotes and one-liners. Nevertheless, I am going to present here the quotes that I consider most relevant for conveying Montaigne’s key messages. Montaigne’s essays constitute the output of twenty years of quiet labour. Amidst religious wars, political strife,…

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    Michel de Montaigne: how reading enhances self-reliance

    Details and explanations are worthless to people who lack understanding. Philosophy is inaccessible to individuals devoid of curiosity. Personal growth cannot be cultivated in apathetic, barren soil. Before quitting his job and retiring to live in the countryside, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) had witnessed outrageous displays of prejudice and irrationality. Widespread violence had driven him…

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    Michel de Montaigne and the importance of reading

    There cannot be complex thinking without reading. Ancient Greek philosophers established the basis of civilization in great part because of their ability to write cogently and build on the knowledge accumulated by their predecessors. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) spent thousands of hours reading, especially works by authors from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. He read…

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