In all areas of human endeavour, the advantages of speed should not be underestimated. For builders, it makes a world of difference whether the structure of an edifice can be completed before the winter comes. For growers, it is crucial that all seeds have been planted before the warm season arrives. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) applied the principle of speed to philosophy, problem solving, and writing. He wrote a large number of essays, focusing each one on a particular issue or question that he wanted to answer. I consider each essay written by Montaigne as a lesson in problem solving. As a reader, I love how each essay is focusing from the start on the key issue, without wasting time. It is true that Montaigne goes occasionally on a tangent, but I view his thought excursions as signs of the difficulty of doing a tight editing in the sixteenth century. Let’s pass review to the problem-solving techniques used by Montaigne in his essays. He employed those techniques during the two decades that he devoted to writing. I would group his problem-solving techniques in the following categories: First, taking a general problem and making it specific by retelling a little story. The process of recounting a story from beginning to end will often bring forward the key to solving the problem. For instance, in his essay “Of Cannibals,” Montaigne wants to establish the proper limits of tolerance. What kind of ideas, laws and behaviours are acceptable in a civilised society? Instead of getting lost in abstractions, Montaigne recounts a little story about cannibals in Brazil, a story that he had read in a report from a French explorer in South America. Montaigne is using the story as “counterpoint to European civilisation,” so that he can immediately address the question at hand. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/problem-solving-and-michel-de-montaignes-literary-techniques/

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