Understanding Life and Death: Philosophical Insights from Montaigne
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Chapter 1: The Art of Living
Welcome to The PATH, a weekly reflection offering insights into everyday life. In this week's installment, we delve deeper into the philosophy and writings of Michel de Montaigne, part of our series titled "Mondays with Montaigne."
Montaigne (1533–1592) famously stated, “My art and profession is to live.” He asserted that the most challenging knowledge to attain is the understanding of how to live life to its fullest and most authentic. Today, he is renowned for establishing the essay as a prominent literary form, aiming to portray his own experiences with utmost sincerity and transparency.
In one of his essays, "To Philosophize is to Learn How to Die," Montaigne posits that the value of life is not measured by its length but by how we choose to live it. He expressed, “Whether you have lived enough depends not on the count of years but on your will.”
Montaigne wrote:
We do not know where death awaits us: so let us wait for it everywhere.
To practice death is to practice freedom. A man who has learned how to die
has unlearned how to be a slave. Knowing how to die gives us freedom from
subjection and constraint.
Life as a Relay
“Mortal creatures live lives dependent on each other; like runners in a relay, they pass on the torch of life.” — Montaigne
Montaigne draws inspiration from the Roman statesman Cicero, who claimed that philosophizing is essentially preparing for death. He believed that study and contemplation help us momentarily detach from our physical selves, a state akin to death that serves as a form of apprenticeship. Ultimately, all wisdom aims to teach us to confront our mortality without fear.
The ancient philosopher Epicurus also emphasized the need to overcome our fears and anxieties about death. Montaigne suggests that contemplating death has profound benefits, one of which is to enhance our appreciation for life itself.
Montaigne advised:
To begin depriving death of its greatest advantage over us, let us adopt a
way clean contrary to that common one; let us deprive death of its
strangeness; let us frequent it, let us get used to it; let us have
nothing more often in mind than death. At every instant, let us evoke it
in our imagination under all its aspects. Whenever a horse stumbles, a
tile falls, or a pin pricks however slightly, let us at once chew over
this thought: ‘Supposing that was death itself?’
For some, the practice of memento mori may evoke feelings of sadness. However, Montaigne believed that his “art and profession is to live.” He cautioned against being swept away by the pleasures of life, stating, “Amid joy and feasting, let our refrain recall our human condition.” We should never become so engrossed in enjoyment that we forget the omnipresence of death.
The recognition of death's inevitability should not lead to despair. Seneca, in his "Letters from a Stoic," argues that philosophy allows individuals to remain cheerful in the face of death, resilient regardless of their physical state. He likens a great captain who continues to sail, even when his sails are torn.
Montaigne concludes:
Truly imagine how much less bearable for Man and how much more
painful it would be a life that lasted forever rather than the life
which I have given you. If you did not have death, you would curse
me forever for depriving you of it.
He believed that by recognizing the advantages death offers, he had intentionally infused a touch of anguish into the topic to discourage excessive attachment to life or death. He sought to maintain a balance between the bitter and the sweet, urging us neither to flee from life nor death.
Thank you for reading; I hope you found something valuable here.
— J.W. Bertolotti
P.S. For daily meditations on the art of living, consider subscribing to the Perennial Meditations newsletter.
Section 1.1: Embracing Mortality
Montaigne’s philosophy encourages us to confront death as a means of appreciating life. This is vividly captured in the following video:
The first video titled "Once You Stop Caring, the Results Come - The Philosophy of Michel de Montaigne" explores Montaigne's ideas on freedom and authenticity in life.
Section 1.2: The Philosophical Pursuit of Happiness
Further insights into Montaigne’s thoughts on self-esteem and happiness can be found in this video:
Titled "Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness - Montaigne on Self-Esteem," this video offers a deeper understanding of Montaigne's perspective on living a fulfilling life.