Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete
Michel de Montaigne
Book Club
Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Complete
8 ways to start a deeper conversation.
Contains spoilers for the entire book.
Discussion topics
Topic 01 of 08
I am the matter of my book
What do you make of Montaigne's claim that he himself is the subject of his book?
Keep the conversation going
- Is writing about oneself a kind of vanity or a kind of honesty?
- How does his approach differ from other books about the self you have read?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.
Discussion topics
What do you make of Montaigne's claim that he himself is the subject of his book?
Keep the conversation going
- Is writing about oneself a kind of vanity or a kind of honesty?
- How does his approach differ from other books about the self you have read?
How does Montaigne argue in "That to study philosophy is to learn to die" that thinking about death frees us?
Keep the conversation going
- Did you find that consoling or morbid?
- How does his attitude to death seem to shift in later essays?
What did you make of Montaigne's account of his friendship with La Boétie: because it was he, because it was I?
Keep the conversation going
- Why does he think such friendship is so rare?
- How does the letter on La Boétie's death, included in this edition, change your reading of the essay?
How does Montaigne use the peoples of the New World in "Of Cannibals" to criticise his own society?
Keep the conversation going
- Is his praise of them fair, or another kind of misunderstanding?
- Which of his comparisons still has force?
What does Montaigne's scepticism, especially in the "Apology for Raymond Sebond", amount to?
Keep the conversation going
- How does he use doubt to argue against human arrogance?
- Is doubt a comfort to him or a danger?
What kind of education does Montaigne want for children, and what does he think the schools of his day got wrong?
Keep the conversation going
- Which of his ideas about teaching still seem fresh?
- How does his own upbringing, speaking Latin before French, shape his view?
Why does Montaigne write so frankly about his body, his habits and even his kidney stones?
Keep the conversation going
- What does his attention to small physical details add to his thinking?
- Where did he make you laugh?
How does the closing essay, "Of Experience", bring Montaigne's thoughts together?
Keep the conversation going
- What does he mean by learning to live well and naturally?
- Which essay would you recommend to someone reading Montaigne for the first time, and why?
There is no single right answer. Bring your own reading.