Montaigne and the Life of Freedom

A new interpretation of the Essais, situating Montaigne's project of self-study in the context of a broader commitment to liberty.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. Freedom and the essai; 2. The languages of the self: Montaigne's classical inheritance; 3. Self-possession, public engagement and slavery; 4. Oysiveté and nonchalance: liberty as carelessness; 5. The art of self-management; Conclusion.

About the author

Felicity Green is Junior Research Fellow in history at Trinity College, Cambridge. She has also held fellowships at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study and at the Huntington Library.

Summary

This book uncovers the centrality and complexity of notions of freedom in Montaigne's thought, thereby challenging prevailing accounts of the Essais as a forerunner of modern understandings of the self. It will appeal to scholars and postgraduate students of early modern intellectual history and literature, and to cultural historians and philosophers.

Product details

• Authors: Felicity Green, Felicity (Trinity College Green, Green Felicity
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.11.2019
• EAN: 9781108796453
• ISBN: 978-1-108-79645-3
• No. of pages: 270
• Series: Ideas in Context
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; French, History of Ideas, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, Literary studies: general, Literary essays, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Medieval Western philosophy