Two Guys, One Book

View Original

How to Live by Sarah Bakewell

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

How to Live by Sarah Bakewell Two Guys, One Book

How to Live by Sarah Bakewell

How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell

Tim and Brian discuss Sarah Bakewell's profile of Montaigne, a French philosopher from the 1500s. We thought this book was interesting, although not entirely captivating. Montaigne was a philosopher who focused on the simple things in life. in his famous Essays, he recorded many of his daily observations and daydreams. 

This book helped give a backdrop for his work, so that you could understand how the events surrounding Montaigne's life influenced the Essays. In the time of Reformation, Renaissance, and the Plague, there was a great opportunity for a new philosopher like Montaigne to combine Ancient Greek wisdom with everyday common sense and logic.