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IN CONTEXT
BRANCH
EthicsAPPROACH
HumanismBEFORE
4th century BCE Aristotle,
in his Nicomachean Ethics,
argues that to be virtuous, a
person must be sociable and
form close relationships with
others; only a bestial man or
a god can flourish alone.AFTER
Late 18th century Anglican
evangelical clergyman Richard
Cecil states, “Solitude shows
us what we should be; society
shows us what we are.”Late 19th century Friedrich
Nietzsche describes solitude
as necessary to the task of
self-examination, which he
claims can alone free humans
from the temptation just to
thoughtlessly follow the mob.I
n his essay “On Solitude”
(from the first volume of his
Essays), Montaigne takes up a
theme that has been popular since
ancient times: the intellectual and
moral dangers of living among
others, and the value of solitude.
Montaigne is not stressing the
importance of physical solitude, but
rather of developing the ability to
resist the temptation to mindlessly
fall in with the opinion and actions
of the mob. He compares our desire
for the approval of our fellow humans
to being overly attached to material
wealth and possessions. Both
passions diminish us, Montaigne
claims, but he does not conclude
that we should relinquish either,
only that we should cultivate a
detachment from them. By doing so,
we may enjoy them—and even
benefit from them—but we will not
become emotionally enslaved to
them, or devastated if we lose them.
“On Solitude” then considers
how our desire for mass approval
is linked to the pursuit of glory, or
fame. Contrary to thinkers such
as Niccolò Machiavelli, who see
glory as a worthy goal, Montaigne
believes that constant striving
for fame is the greatest barrier to
peace of mind, or tranquility. HeTranquillity depends
upon detachment
from the opinion of others.If we seek fame
we cannot
reachdetachment.If we seek fame—which
is gloryin the eyes of
others—we must seek
their good opinion.Fame and
tranquillity can
never be bedfellows.FAME AND
TRANQUILLITY
CAN NEVER BE
BEDFELLOWS
MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE (1533–1592)