Wisdom without controversy is soon forgotten, in the same way as one forgets unused knowledge, unused spare parts, and unused train tickets. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) made a conscious decision to use controversy in his essays, precisely because he wanted the lessons to be learned and not forgotten. Besides, Montaigne found it much more interesting to write about unorthodox, dissonant ideas; he knew all the mainstream doctrines of his century, and found them unworthy of his time. He had better things to think about and write about. Take for instance Montaigne’s essay “Of Cannibals,” which in today’s translations is sometimes titled “On Cannibals.” This essay is by far Montaigne’s best known work, even if it shows deficiencies in its research and logic. Why is this essay so famous? Because it defends profoundly controversial opinions. For better or for worse, the essay about cannibals has contributed to building Montaigne’s reputation. It has prompted millions of people to read his essays and profit from their wisdom. Montaigne could have selected a less controversial title for this essay. For instance, he could have named it “In defence of cultural relativism” or “Social perspectives on ethics.” Luckily, Montaigne did not choose any of those anodyne tiles. They would have condemned this essay to oblivion, and steered potential readers away from Montaigne’s writings. The key idea of “Of Cannibals” is fairly simple. Montaigne points out that, in his century, some indigenous tribes in South America are still practising horrendous cannibalism, mostly by eating their enemies, but that Europeans are to blame for some practices that are as horrendous as cannibalism. Montaigne is using alleged South-American cannibalism as a literary subterfuge to address controversial European issues. By pointing his finger to “those cruel South-American tribes,” he can raise his voice against European abuses that he couldn’t have addressed otherwise. Controversy is a method for rendering the whole argument interesting, and discussing uncomfortable issues. Montaigne is referring to the appalling European habits of conducting wars for the personal gain of the instigators, or imprisoning and torturing the members of religious minorities. In a way, argues Montaigne, cannibalism is less cruel than warfare and torture because it is not motivated by greed and self-interest. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/controversy-in-michel-de-montaignes-wisdom/

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