Questions: Montaigne and the Essay as Personal Meditation
5 questions to test your understanding
Score: 0 / 5
Question 1 Multiple Choice
What was revolutionary about using personal reflection as vehicle for serious philosophy?
APersonal reflection is irrelevant to philosophy
BPhilosophy requires impersonal authority; personal voice undermines it
CUsing subjective voice and personal experience as philosophical instruments was unprecedented
DPhilosophy had always valued personal reflection
Before Montaigne, serious thought required distancing from personal; authority came from tradition. Montaigne claimed personal reflection and subjective voice could be philosophically serious.
Question 2 Multiple Choice
How do exploratory digression and scholarly authority work together in Montaigne's essays?
AThey contradict each other
BDigressions undermine authority
CFlexible exploration combined with learning creates philosophical depth
DAuthority requires rigid form
Montaigne uses scholarly references (authority) within flexible, associative structure (digression). This allows genuine exploration rather than predetermined conclusion.
Question 3 True / False
Montaigne valued intellectual honesty and skepticism as philosophical virtues.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
These qualities define his approach: willingness to question, change mind, admit uncertainty.
Question 4 True / False
Montaigne's essay form established that subjective voice diminishes philosophical seriousness.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
The opposite is true. Personal voice and honest reflection can achieve philosophical seriousness.
Question 5 Short Answer
Explain how Montaigne's use of digression serves intellectual honesty rather than undermining it.
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer:
Traditional philosophical writing moves toward predetermined conclusion. Digression seems to wander. But Montaigne's digressions are honest: thought genuinely wanders, connections aren't always obvious, exploration isn't always linear. By permitting digression, the essay form allows genuine thinking rather than manufactured argument. You can follow an idea, discover it connects to something unexpected, pursue that connection. This actual thinking process seems messier than predetermined conclusion, but it's more honest. It acknowledges that real thought isn't always organized. The essay form, with its permission for digression, allows philosophical work that respects how thinking actually happens.