Abstract
This essay attempts to retrieve the notion of ‘common sense’ within the writings of Descartes and Montaigne. I suggest that both writers represent distinct traditions in which the notion is employed. Descartes represents a modernist tradition in which common sense is understood to be a cognitive faculty, while Montaigne represents a humanist tradition in which common sense is understood as a political virtue. I also suggest that both writers work with the notion as a way of responding to diversity in the world. The paper concludes with a discussion of how the notion of common sense employed by Descartes and Montaigne emerges out of the scholastic tradition and the assertion that both writers are responding to the educational consequences of scholasticism. I also discuss how the reconstruction of Descartes in this paper can provide some ground for raising new questions about the Cartesian project and educational philosophy. Finally, I gesture toward the idea that the humanist tradition with its understanding of common sense as political virtue can provide benefit for contemporary responses to diversity.
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Notes
In order to insert “on the brain” in this extract, I have also referred to the translation of the Discourse in (Descartes 1985a).
See the essay, “On the Cannibals” (Montaigne, 1991e).
Zachary S. Schiffman (1984) argues that Montaigne’s brand of skeptical humanism is a response to the scholastic education that he received. This view is a corrective to the popular thesis advanced by Richard H. Popkin (1979) which claims that Montaigne’s skepticism is a counter-attack against absolutist Reformation writers.
For Pierre Hadot (1995, p. 271), Descartes’ Meditations are an eloquent testimony to the link between modern philosophical discourse and the existential aspects of ancient and medieval philosophy.
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Acknowledgments
I am indebted to the following colleagues for their invaluable comments and suggestions throughout the development of this paper: David T. Hansen, Teachers College, Columbia University; Dmitri Nikulin, New School for Social Research; and, Avi Mintz, University of Tulsa. I am also grateful to Gert Biesta and two anonymous reviewers for their critical and encouraging advice on how and where to make some much needed improvements to the manuscript. Finally, I wish to thank Anne De Marzio for her close reading of earlier drafts.
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De Marzio, D.M. Dealing with Diversity: On the Uses of Common Sense in Descartes and Montaigne. Stud Philos Educ 29, 301–313 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9179-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9179-6