Montaigne: Forever Relevant

    Montaigne was an extremely popular French philosopher from the 16th century, known for his impressive insight into a multitude of issues through his short essays which often stem from his own acute observations of life. In his essay “Of the Art of Conference,” Montaigne

emphasizes the value of conversation by asserting how constructive conversations can grow one intellectually by exchanging ideas, learning from one another, and engaging with diverse opinions. Despite being written over five centuries ago, Montaigne's “Of the Art of Conference” remains just as relevant today as it did so many years ago, as his emphasis on the intellectual benefits of conversation, the human tendency to avoid correction, and the practical skills required for effective conversation continue to resonate in contemporary times. Montaigne is often venerated as the most profound, and most unique thinker ever; making his insight something to be respected and learned from.

    Montaigne was the first writer to refer to his written work as “essays,” and he is known for being the one that coined the term. In Montaigne's original book, titled “Essayes,” he compiles his collection of short, but powerfully written essays of philosophy. But how exactly has he maintained his relevance? Why, five hundred years later, is he still considered to be one of the greatest thinkers?

    It is important to note that Montainge’s essay “Of the Art of Conference '' is relevant in contemporary times because of Montaigne’s fundamentals within his writing. This particular essay is a product of a specific formula that Montaigne crafted throughout all of his career as a writer; and because “Of the Art of Conference '' follows this formula, the essay continues to bring prosperity to many thinkers as do many of his other essays.

    López Hernández tells us in his article The Education in Montaigne's Essays: a Dialectical Experience that Montaigne has essentially maintained relevance in contemporary times because “Montaigne’s curriculum is asserted in which philosophy has a fundamental role, by offering elements to converse with life” (45). López’s argument is that Montaigne's work contains the ability to help thinkers and those seeking higher education and understanding of life, change themselves. Montaigne does this by providing his own individual experience, highlighting the human condition, and then making it possible for others to then reflect and analyze themselves through the lens that he provides using his introspection and perspective. López asserts that Montaigne can be read as an “educational proposal” in which readers equip

themselves with intellectual knowledge in order to “know oneself better in order to build oneself better and face life better” (45).

    In Montaigne’s essay, “Of the Art of Conference” he discusses the many benefits that conversation has on intellectual pursuits. It is Montaigne’s idea that conversation can have more of a positive impact on anyone’s intellect than any other form of intellectual training. This may be why Montaigne says that he would “consent to lose his sight, rather than his hearing and speech.” Upon reading this statement it would seem that Montaigne is advocating for conversation as more important than reading, which is exactly what he believes through his own experience. Montaigne asserts that “The study of books is a languishing and feeble motion that heats not, whereas conversation teaches and exercises at once.” This gives the notion that conversation, when done right, has the ability to be more beneficial than even books.

    So, how does Montaigne describe what a good conversation looks like? According to Montaigne, a good conversation is one where both sides are actively engaged, listening, and sharing ideas. But the most important thing, Montaigne says, in a conversation is taking “great pleasure in being judged and known.” A lawyer cannot effectively give a proper argument, without first being able to understand the other side's argument to then refute their points. The judge cannot make a proper decision in the stance of justice without first knowing, listening, and weighing each side for their arguments. Without listening to one another, and having good conversation with others, every man and woman would be stuck in the bigotry of their own thoughts. That is why Montaigne essentially proclaims the importance of being open to criticism.

    A study on the benefits of interactive learning on students' critical thinking skills done at Precarpathian National University found that “interactive learning offers countless benefits for students' critical thinking skills improvement” (Kachak & Blyznyuk, 100). Communication and conversation is closely similar, if not identical, and vital to interactive learning. Conversation has massive improvements on critical thinking, it is the soul of critical thought. Thinking, listening and analyzing are all part of conversation, inseparable from it, and thus exercise the ability of critical thought more than anything else.

    Everybody, for the most part, can agree that conversation, especially face to face, has declined in recent years with the addition of social media and other technological advancements. Now, Montaigne’s own experience and observations of life, as well as modern day scholarly studies, suggest that conversation is extremely beneficial to critical thought. However, this is the part of Montaigne’s essay where he moves into the human condition, which differs from what

    Montaigne has said. The human condition, according to Montaigne is that humans “have not the courage to correct, because they have not the courage to suffer themselves to be corrected.” Montaigne first makes the claim that conversation is extremely beneficial to exercising the human mind and that it needs to be done more. However, he also observes that the human condition, the natural tendencies of humans, is to not want to converse or debate in fear of being corrected. Nobody likes to be pointed out that they are wrong, or to come to that realization, its hardwired into humans to believe what they want to believe or what they think is right. In his aforementioned article, López points out that Montaigne’s essays “start from Montaigne’s individual experience, moves through the entire human condition, and returns to the reader willing to be analyzed” (45).

    Now that Montaigne has given his own observations and gone over humans' natural tendencies, this is the part of his essays where he gives the readers time to reflect. He leaves the readers with an analogy by Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, where Cyrus says that “men do not become valiant and warlike upon a sudden, by a fine oration, no more than a man becomes a good musician by hearing a fine song.” Montaigne is acknowledging that having good, healthy, and productive conversations is a skill that takes a lot of practice. That isn’t where Montaigne leaves his readers though; he also makes known that preaching “to the first passer-by, and to become tutor to the ignorance and folly of the first we meet, is a thing that I abhor.” He wants his readers to know that having a pretentious attitude in conversation, or rather when correcting someone, is very unnecessary and is only okay with those close to you, as long as you are humble in approach. Those that read and study Montaigne’s works would be able to analyze their own attitudes in conversations and make a fair judgment on the morality and humble attitude that they bring, or don’t bring, on a daily basis.

    In conclusion, Montaigne's "Of the Art of Conference" explains the vital role of conversation in terms of pursuing intellectual growth and self-improvement. Despite being written over 500 years ago, Montaigne's observations about human reluctance to accept correction remain relevant today. He illustrates how engaging in thoughtful dialogue can enhance critical thinking and promote open-mindedness. Modern studies corroborate his assertions as well via the effectiveness of interactive learning and communication. Montaigne's essays provide valuable guidance on cultivating productive conversations and navigating interpersonal interactions, ensuring his work remains a significant resource for contemporary readers and future generations.

“Works Cited”

- López Hernández, J. R. (2022). La educación en los ensayos de montaigne, una experiencia dialéctica. [Education in Montaigne's Essays, a dialectical experience] Anales Del Seminario De Historia De La Filosofía, 39(1), 45-54. doi:https://doi.org/10.5209/ashf.75873

- Tetyana Blyznyuk, Tetiana Kachak (2024). Benefits of Interactive Learning for Students' Critical Thinking Skills Improvement. Journal of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University Vol. 11, No. 1 (2024), 94-102. http://journals.pnu.edu.ua

- Montaigne, Michel de. "Of the Art of Conference." Essayes, translated by Charles Cotton (1603).