John Vespasian

Tag: happiness

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    Michel de Montaigne’s literary works and themes

    For twenty years, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) spent a good part of his days writing his essays. He made no planning, organisation, or outline of the whole. Instead, he let his works grow organically and spontaneously. Eventually, he compiled his essays in volumes ready for publication. Montaigne’s literary themes have been identified by critics, not…

    John Vespasian

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    Michel de Montaigne and happiness

    To a great extent, happiness is the result of good philosophy accompanied by good implementation. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) wrote essays for two decades with the sole goal of clarifying the path to happiness. He wanted to build himself a philosophy and a lifestyle conducive to happiness. What lessons did Montaigne learn during his two…

    John Vespasian

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    Michel de Montaigne and the concept of virtue

    Ethical aspects are often underrated by individuals seeking personal growth. Psychology discussions tend to focus on pre-conceptions, personal history, and logical errors rather than on virtue. As a result, happiness is randomly defined, haphazardly pursued, and serendipitously achieved. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) held a different view. At an early age, he had discovered the strong…

    John Vespasian

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    Michel de Montaigne and human nature

    Seldom has a philosopher devoted so much effort to writing about human nature. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) spent two decades doing research about philosophy and psychology, gathering lessons about happiness. Montaigne’s objective was to identify the best patterns of behaviour, those that promote individual and social happiness. He read everything about Socrates (470-399 BC), as…

    John Vespasian

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    Accuracy of Michel de Montaigne’s personal reflections

    The insertion of personal reflections is the most innovative aspect in the essays of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). The previous centuries had relegated personal reflections to poetry. Montaigne is the first author who gave his personal views on a wide range of subjects, placing his reflections on equal level to quotations from Plato, Aristotle, or…

    John Vespasian

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    Michel de Montaigne’s thoughts

    Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was more a gatherer than a creator of philosophical ideas. He devoted twenty years of his life to writing essays on history, literature and morality, but all his conclusions are based on prior philosophers. Montaigne’s contribution is the personal touch that he gave to his compilations of knowledge. He mixed up…

    John Vespasian

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    Schopenhauer’s key ideas on ethics

    I am going to summarize the moral philosophy put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) in seven key ideas. The presentation of those key ideas will identify, when relevant, the difference between Schopenhauer and other philosophers. Schopenhauer’s ethics don’t rely on revelation by God or prophets. His ethics overlap with Christianity in some areas, especially in…

    John Vespasian

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    Analysis of Schopenhauer’s views on ethics

    The uniqueness of the ethical system put forward by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) becomes clear when we compare it with other philosophies. I regard it as particularly enlightening to compare Schopenhauer’s ethics with Taoism and Stoicism. Taoism was created in ancient China. It predicates harmony with nature, spontaneity, modesty, simplicity and steering away from violence. Lao-Tzu…

    John Vespasian

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    Schopenhauer on ethics

    The ethics system proposed by Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) is similar to Ancient Stoicism in some aspects, but offers more complex explanations on the workings of nature, society, and human motivation. Schopenhauer theorized that life is fundamentally marked by the influence of the will (“life force”) which will generate a large amount of suffering and dissatisfaction…

    John Vespasian

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    Schopenhauer’s philosophy of life compared with Taoism

    Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) was deeply familiar with Eastern philosophy, in particular Buddhism and Hinduism. He held in high regard the Eastern approach to stress reduction by reducing one’s emotional engagement. In Schopenhauer’s books, you won’t find a call for “nirvana” and other Eastern philosophical concepts. Nonetheless, he put forward recommendations that are similar to “nirvana.”…

    John Vespasian

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