The writings of French Renaissance thinker Michel de Montaigne are notoriously difficult to interpret. For Pierre Manent, Montaigne’s works—in particular his Essays—exhibit an overarching unity, as well as a philosophical depth that has made a lasting impression on modern thought. As Manent argues, Montaigne’s philosophical corpus centers on the concept of the human condition, seeking to show what human life would look like in the absence of the modern state.
Now in paperback, Montaigne: Life without Law, originally published in French and translated into English by Paul Seaton, provides a careful reading of Montaigne’s three-volume work, Essays. As Perspectives on Politics comments, “Pierre Manent’s monograph on Montaigne . . . is brimming with the considerable erudition for which Manent is justly famous as a philosopher and public intellectual in France. Manent performs a virtuoso close reading of the Essays, taking readers on a thrilling ride through many of the twisting thematic turns, cheerfully unexplained self-contradictions, and dramatic changes of subject that have drawn readers to Montaigne for centuries. Paul Seaton, the translator, has done a masterful job capturing Manent’s gripping prose.”
The new paperback edition is available for purchase on the Notre Dame Press website.
Pierre Manent is professor emeritus of political philosophy at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. He is the author of numerous books, including Natural Law and Human Rights: Toward a Recovery of Practical Reason (University of Notre Dame Press, 2020).
Paul Seaton is the Richard and Barbara Fisher Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary’s Seminary & University. He has translated multiple works from French to English, including books by Rémi Brague, Chantal Delsol, and Pierre Manent.
Learn More on our blog:
• An Excerpt from MONTAIGNE by Pierre Manent
• Pierre Manent’s MONTAIGNE Available in First English Translation