In Montaigne: Life without Law, originally published in French in
2014 and now translated for the first time into English by Paul
Seaton, Pierre Manent provides a careful reading of Montaigne's
three-volume work Essays. Although Montaigne's writings resist easy
analysis, Manent finds in them a subtle unity, and demonstrates the
philosophical depth of Montaigne's reflections and the distinctive,
even radical, character of his central ideas. To show Montaigne's
unique contribution to modern philosophy, Manent compares his work
to other modern thinkers, including Machiavelli, Hobbes, Pascal,
and Rousseau. What does human life look like without the imposing
presence of the state? asks Manent. In raising this question about
Montaigne's Essays, Manent poses a question of great relevance to
our contemporary situation. He argues that Montaigne's
philosophical reflections focused on what he famously called la
condition humaine, the human condition. Manent tracks Montaigne's
development of this fundamental concept, focusing especially on his
reworking of pagan and Christian understandings of virtue and
pleasure, disputation and death. Bringing new form and content
together, a new form of thinking and living is presented by
Montaigne's Essays, a new model of a thoughtful life from one of
the unsung founders of modernity. Throughout, Manent suggests
alternatives and criticisms, some by way of contrasts with other
thinkers, some in his own name. This is philosophical engagement at
a very high level. In showing the unity of Montaigne's work,
Manent's study will appeal especially to students and scholars of
political theory, the history of modern philosophy, modern
literature, and the origins of modernity.
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