Michel de Montaigne and moral philosophy

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) built himself a morality framework by writing essays for two decades. His philosophy resembles a house built little by little, using various techniques and materials, and then painted over several times in different colours. On the one hand, Montaigne embraced scepticism, showing very little confidence in the human ability to establish absolute truths. He studied history extensively, especially ancient Rome and ancient Greece, and realised that even the best people tend to behave inconsistently. If the best individuals seem unable to keep a steady course, how can the rest of us find the right answers? If social pressure and local traditions play a dominant role in human thought, can we hold people responsible for their mistakes? In contrast to prior philosophers, Montaigne focused on the individual instead of trying to establish universal truths. From his historical studies, he extracted valuable hands-on lessons, but declined to construe a systematic philosophy. Montaigne’s goal was to improve his own effectiveness and happiness, not to prescribe to the whole world how to behave. In his essays, we find elaborate discussions about ethics, but they all aim at solving specific problems. What to do in times of adversity, asks Montaigne. What is the right course of action when things fall apart? How to avoid liars and find truthful friends. How to use one’s time and energy wisely? Those are the questions that Montaigne tried to answer. Although Montaigne was a religious person, a Catholic, he gave more weight to history and experience than to Christian theology. Nonetheless, he agreed with theologians that each man should follow his own conscience, and do what’s right, no matter how strongly people tell him otherwise. Montaigne viewed integrity as the cardinal virtue. He called one’s conscience “the most sacred of all possessions” and the “voice of truth.” He regarded the treason to one’s conscience as a crime practically impossible to expiate. His moral philosophy revolved around the virtue of having a clear conscience. That explains why he favoured virtues such as modesty, tolerance and moderation. He spoke against undue influences on our conscience, and committed himself to letting other people follow their convictions. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaigne-and-moral-philosophy/