A Critical Analysis of Montaigne's 'Of Cannibals' Philosophy

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of Michel de Montaigne's essay 'Of Cannibals,' focusing on his critical examination of European and Brazilian societies. Montaigne challenges the notion of cultural superiority, using the concept of 'barbarism' to critique European customs and beliefs. The essay explores Montaigne's views on cannibalism, the treatment of prisoners, and societal practices, highlighting his emphasis on cultural relativism and the importance of understanding different perspectives. It examines how Montaigne's ideas resonate with contemporary issues, such as intolerance and the treatment of the 'other.' Furthermore, the essay delves into Montaigne's argument that what is considered barbaric is often defined by one's own cultural practices, advocating for humility and the acceptance of diverse customs and opinions. The analysis underscores the enduring relevance of Montaigne's philosophical insights in understanding globalization and the complexities of multicultural societies.

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Michel de Montaigne” Of Cannibals”
Michel de Montaigne’s” Of Cannibals” questions the grounds of all beliefs and practices
radically. He condemned many laws and customs because of their unreasonableness and opposed
any political reforms as he believed that it would only make matters worse. Montaigne’s” Of
Cannibals” is a network of historical and literary texts that crisscross and merge with the
discovery of different cultures and their relationships during the 16th century Europe. There is a
cannibalistic dynamism in his writing as he counteracts hegemonic ideologies. He takes a
direction that points out towards the moral, religious and political deterioration of his times.
There is a elusive criticism of the French and European political orders. His essay is an
intertextual array of accidental order, paradox, and movement as it explores the problematic
relationships that developed between the old and new worlds.
In his essay” Of Cannibals,” Montaigne investigates the European and Brazilian societies
and the distinction between the two societies from the perspective of otherness. However, as the
author comes up with many similarities between the governance of the two groups of people, the
synonymous aspects blur the lines between the self and the other. He uses Barbarians to inspect
the civilized societies with an unblemished perspective. Montaigne looks at European arrogance
and superiority as ignorance. For him, both the civilized and uncivilized deviate from the ideal
state of perfection. Even as the Europeans are far more tainted, the Cannibals too are following
the same footsteps and evolving towards the same nature of corrupted civilized.

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The term Barbarians is used to understand the definition of the “self” and for the
developed culture like the Europeans in Montaigne’s society. Montaigne delights in showing that
even the most knowing authorities could have endless confusion on the topics like immortal soul
(The Conversation). If those diverse attitudes and customs cease to be problematic, it could give
way to a new kind of enlightening solution. In his essay, he presents the different aspects of
American Indian culture, and he looks at those savages’ to be an equal society ethically when
compared to war-torn France. Other revolutionary thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau would
echo the same thoughts about 200 years later (The Conversation).
For Montaigne, the difference in customs and opinions should encourage education in
humility. However, if one side considers the other very different in their manners and ways, then
one side is looked upon to be more savage in comparison (The Conversation).
Barbarism can mean different in different cultures and from different perspectives. Montaigne’s”
Of Cannibals” argues that what Europeans think as barbaric is any behavior or culture that is
different from their own. Same can be said for other cultures, and they may look at European
culture to be barbaric. Thus, for each man, what is different from his cultural practices are
barbaric. Montaigne imagines that although we may be hurried by the idea of eating the dead,
however, when one cremates the deceased or buries their bodies, the bodies are still devoured by
the worms.
Montaigne argues that the New World culture is not wild but naturalistic and still
governed by the laws of nature. It is ironical that their purity renders then barbaric. For
Montaigne, his own culture is barbaric because the European culture eats a man alive, and the
New World cannibals eat carcasses but for a purpose. The New World people make use of
resources that are available to them and have a healthier community. Although Montaigne

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condemns the practice of cannibalism, for the New World cannibals, it is a simple way of living
in equilibrium with the environment and without exerting any force on nature by cultivating or
altering it. He looks at the European culture to be cannibalistic and corrupt by nature. According
to him, consuming people once they are dead is a lot better than putting them to all kind of
tortures when alive. Montaigne's purpose is to show that man can live in harmony with nature
and feel comfortable with it or can create disharmony by claiming to be superior to nature or
other cultures.
For Montaigne, barbarians are not superior or for a better cause, just because their culture
and customs are different. It is the confines of our culture and customs that prohibit one to
understand the others. Just excuse the others are different, we look upon them to be inferior or
barbarous. The Westerners often perceive the other communities to be as barbaric simply
because of the cultural differences (Handler 12). When looking at these issues in the culture
prevailing today, we find the ideas and thoughts of Montaigne still resonating the society. If one
looks at the treatment of prisoners, property, and marriage in today culture based on Montaigne”
Of Cannibals,” there is still little willingness to develop a tolerance for other cultures and
societies. We still live within a profoundly intolerant age and show little inclination to accept the
“other” social organization one's own. Although Montaigne observes that tribal cultures were
superior to the European cultures at the time of his writing, he neither approves cannibalism or
the killing of the prisoners of war. Still, he rejects the dubious claims of the European civilization
to be superior and or him; all humans were subject to the same miscalculations (Stockwell 4).
Prisoners face the threats of torments and future death and are used as a commodity. They
are not seen as individuals but from the same lens and are seen to be immoral, dangerous and
corrupt for the society. This is indeed a show of barbarism. When one looks the marriages in the

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society and current cultures, although women have come a long way when it comes to gender
equalities, there are cultures and societies, where they still have to live within the shadow of their
husbands, and their lives are confined to the four walls of their home. Even if they get educated
and join the mainstream workforce in different occupations and fields, they are not given the
same enumerations or recognition as their male counterparts. When it comes to property, the
males still dominate the society and decide how and who gets the share of the property. All those
aspects show that Montaigne vies and thoughts are still very much relevant to the cultures and
societies today.
It is the demarcation between the “self” and the “other” that sets the differences between
the two, and it is here where the problems begin. For example, the distinction between man and
women, the civil and the prisoner, that states one to be more civilized or superior than the other.
Montaigne’s gives one a direction to pause and think about human nature and multicultural
reality. One should appreciate the diversity rather than look at it through the lens of” other.”
Although Montaigne makes a critique of sixteenth-century globalization, his guidelines still work
to understand the twenty-first-century globalization. It is becoming even more critical to
appreciate the significant differences between cultures and understand them. It is essential to
remove the identification of one as the “self” and the different cultures as “other.” Unless and
until the propel the communities and nations do that, in Montaigne’s words, any further progress
will only be futile and make matters worse than before. It is essential to accept all beliefs and
practices practiced in different countries and cultures. The Cannibals are very much alive even
today in the modern age. They could be savages from the new world or the noble savages who
are the victims of the superior powers or the cultures who think they are more superior.

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Works Cited
Handler, Richard. "Of Cannibals and Custom: Montaigne's Cultural Relativism." Anthropology
Today, vol. 2, no. 5, 1986, pp. 12-14.
“Of Cannibals.” Quotidiana, 2 Jul. 2018, essays.quotidiana.org/montaigne/cannibals/. Accessed
15 Nov. 2018
Marchi, Dudley M. "Montaigne and the New World: The Cannibalism of Cultural Production."
Modern Language Studies, vol. 23, no. 4, 1993, pp. 35-54.
Stockwell, Clinton E. "“Cannibals All? A Discourse on Michel de Montaigne’s Essay. ‘On the
Cannibals’ Anthropology Today, vol. 2, no. 5, 2002, pp. 12-14.
The conversation. “Guide to the classics: Michel de Montaigne’s Essays.” The conversation, 2
Nov. 2016, theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-michel-de-montaignes-essays-
63508. Accessed 15 Nov. 2018