Michel de Montaigne
The inventor of the personal essay, Montaigne turned his own thoughts, habits, and contradictions into a new literary form of radical intimacy and intellectual honesty. His Essays range from the philosophical to the trivial with equal curiosity and self-deprecating humor. He coined the term 'essay' from the French essai, meaning attempt.
Works
- EssaysPhilosophical meditations on human nature, death, and personal experience
- Travel JournalAccount of Montaigne's travels through Italy, Switzerland, and Germany
- On ExperienceEssay exploring how human experience reveals knowledge and truth
- On CannibalsEssay challenging European assumptions about indigenous non-European cultures
- An Apology for Raymond SebondDefense of medieval theologian Sebond's arguments for religious belief
- To Philosophize Is to Learn to DieEssay on death as fundamental to philosophical wisdom and living well