Consistency is the very first thing we expect from authentic individuals, that is, consistency between their speech and feats. Nonetheless, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) knew that few thinkers in history have demonstrated a tight consistency. Even in Socrates (469-399 BC) and Plato (427-347 BC), we can detect inconsistencies. Later, in the decades after Aristotle (384-322 BC), the culture declined to such an extent that the so-called philosophers would not even claim to be consistent. Montaigne’s method for remaining authentic (consistent) was to quit his public office, retire to live in the countryside, and adopt a semi-ascetic lifestyle. On the one hand, he steered away from all grandstanding or virtue signalling. On the other hand, he embraced an effaced, modest, semi-solitary lifestyle. Those two factors made it hard for anyone to criticise Montaigne for “lack of authenticity.” In this respect, Montaigne wrote an essay that constitutes a lifestyle manifesto. I am referring to the essay titled “That We Are to Avoid Pleasures Even at the Expense of Enjoyment.” Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/asceticism-and-michel-de-montaignes-literary-authenticity/

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