🦉 In Search of Wisdom
In Search of Wisdom is a podcast for seekers and curious minds interested in tools for the art of living. Each episode attempts to introduce principles and practices to help us live our highest good. Join the search with J.W. Bertolotti and leading thinkers in philosophy, theology, and everything in between.
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Montaigne: Lessons on the Art of Living
Welcome to another episode of In Search of Wisdom. Today, we’re searching for lessons on the art of living from the sixteenth-century philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). In this episode, you can expect to learn why we need a direction for our lives, the wisdom of solitude, and why we should question everything, at least according to Montaigne.
Key Takeaways
Learning how to live is the primary task.
Solitude can help us discover who we are.
We should question our own judgments.
Episode Transcript
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Montaigne: Three Lessons on the Art of Living
“My trade and my art is living,” declared Montaigne. He believed that no knowledge is as hard to acquire as knowing how to live this life well and naturally. Today, he is best known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre, where Montaigne said his goal was to describe himself with utter frankness and honesty. “It is not my deeds that I write down,” he writes, “it is myself; it is my essence.”
1. Learn to Live
Montaigne believed that life should be an aim and a purpose unto itself. His collection of essays provides a plethora of insights on the project of living, gained through his rigorous self-observation.
In her book How to Live: A Life of Montaigne, the British writer Sarah Bakewell explains that Montaigne believed that life happens while we’re making other plans. Therefore, philosophy must repeatedly guide our attention back to where it belongs—the here and now.
One way to avoid having life pass us by is a clear direction. To quote Montaigne’s essay On Idleness, “When the soul is without a definite aim, she gets lost; for, as they say, if you are everywhere, you are nowhere.”
Learning to live, at least for Montaigne, ultimately means learning to live with imperfection and even to embrace it. “If you fail to grasp life,” he stressed, “it will elude you. If you do grasp it, it will elude you anyway.”
