Michel de Montaigne

In this episode of Philosophy for Beginners, we turn to Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592), the French nobleman who withdrew from public life to a tower filled with books and invented a new form of philosophy: the essay. Montaigne believed that wisdom comes not from building grand systems but from examining ordinary experience with honesty and doubt. He wrote about friendship, death, custom, and the body with candor that still feels startlingly modern. By asking “What do I know?” Montaigne taught that humility and skepticism can be virtues, and that philosophy should help us live well rather than argue endlessly.

Produced by Selenius Media – Music by The Artificial Laboratory.