What is Montaigne’s view of human nature versus modern civilization? How does he use the concepts of barbarism, wildness, and blindness to make his view clear? Your answer should be at least 250 words
Answers
Montaigne’s view is actually a third, a synthesis of the two views mentioned above. We might call Montaigne’s view of human nature a critical realist view. In this perspective, all humans, Europeans and others, have both savage and noble characteristics. Montaigne influenced the development of the noble savage theory,which was later adopted by other writers including Jean Jacques Rousseau. WhileMontaigne notes the many ways that tribal cultures were superior to the culture of Western Europe at the time of his writing, his idealization is a bit chastened. Montaigneneither sanctions cannibalism, nor the killing of prisoners of war. Yet, he notes thatEuropeans were also guilty of practicing cruelty and murder, so that the notion thatEuropean civilization was superior was a dubious claim. For Montaigne, all humans are subject to the same foibles, savagery and miscalculation