Montaigne and the Cannibals: Journal Article by Roger Celestin

Philosophical Background

Roger Célestin’s article centers on Montaigne’s essay “Des Cannibales,” written during the Renaissance, which presents the indigenous peoples of the New World not as monstrous others but through a lens questioning European norms. Montaigne’s skeptical humanism challenges ethnocentrism by comparing “savages” to Europeans, questioning prevailing ideas of civilization and barbarism. This context is key to Célestin’s redefinition of exoticism as a critical reflection on Western assumptions about identity and difference.

Legal and Anthropological Frameworks

Célestin reframes Montaigne’s portrayal of the “cannibals” by emphasizing not just anthropological relativism but also the legal and judicial consciousness embedded in Montaigne’s work. Montaigne, experienced as a judge, incorporates notions of equity and justice in judging other cultures, advocating for a more nuanced and skeptical understanding. This approach aligns Montaigne with early modern legal debates about the rights and treatment of Indigenous peoples during colonization, notably extending his cross-cultural critique beyond simple exotic fascination to a form of legal and ethical relativism grounded in Renaissance jurisprudence. Célestin thereby suggests Montaigne’s exoticism is a philosophically and legally informed discourse rather than mere curiosity or exotic attraction, highlighting the era’s intense colonial tensions and the emerging awareness of cultural difference in law and ethics.

Literary and Postcolonial Dimensions

Célestin’s redefinition also intersects with literary and postcolonial theory by situating Montaigne’s work within the tradition of representing the “exotic” other through binary oppositions that both fascinate and estrange. The article addresses how “exoticism” functions as a discourse that simultaneously constructs and disrupts colonial narratives. This resonates with later analyses of exoticism in Western literature that reveal underlying colonial anxieties, as seen in texts like Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Célestin’s study contributes to the understanding of exoticism not simply as aesthetic or narrative device but as a mode deeply entangled with power, identity, and resistance emerging from early collisions of cultures in European colonial contexts.

Key themes

• Montaigne challenges Eurocentric views by questioning the true meaning of "barbarism" in "Des Cannibales."
• The essay advances early cross-cultural relativism and skepticism about cultural superiority.
• Montaigne juxtaposes Amerindian societies' social harmony with European civil wars to critique his own culture.
• The text explores equity and justice through a proto-legal lens applied to New World peoples.
• Montaigne’s work destabilizes fixed notions of exoticism, urging a redefinition beyond mere otherness.

Motifs & problems

Montaigne’s essay uses the figure of the "cannibal" both as a symbol of perceived savagery and as a mirror reflecting European moral failings. This dual image creates an ambiguity that challenges readers to reconsider definitions of civility and barbarism. Key motifs include the natural law of indigenous peoples versus the corrupt sophistication of Europeans, and judicial notions of equity that underpin judgments across cultures. The interpretive crux lies in whether “exoticism” is a fixed lens or a question in itself, which Montaigne unsettles by highlighting the cultural prejudices embedded in European colonial discourse.

Study questions

• How does Montaigne’s notion of equity inform his depiction of Amerindian cultures?
• In what ways does “Des Cannibales” critique European self-identity?
• What role does skepticism play in Montaigne’s method of cultural judgment?
• How does the cannibal figure function as both a problem and a solution to exoticism?
• How might Montaigne’s reflections relate to contemporary debates on cultural relativism?
• How does Montaigne position himself as both judge and subject in assessing “the other”?
• What implications does Montaigne’s redefinition of exoticism have for postcolonial studies?

Critical approaches & debates

Roger Celestin’s article is primarily analyzed through postcolonial and legal-anthropological lenses, emphasizing Montaigne’s challenge to Eurocentric views by redefining exoticism with skeptical equity rooted in judicial practice. Some scholars highlight Montaigne’s proto-anthropological relativism, while others, following Celestin, underscore his legal reasoning as central to his critique of colonialism and religious conflict. Debates focus on whether Montaigne’s exoticism is empathetic or still bound by Eurocentric othering. There is contention over the extent to which Montaigne’s judgment subverts or reinforces colonial attitudes, with Celestin stressing his innovative equity-based intercultural judgment as a form of resistance.

Key passages

Celestin centers on Montaigne’s “Des cannibales” where Montaigne acts as both judge and self-judged in a chiasmus that merges self with other. This judicial metaphor reframes exoticism as an ethical encounter demanding skepticism and equity, challenging readers to reassess cultural prejudice and the justification of violence in New World colonization and European religious wars.

Bibliography

Celestin, Roger. “Montaigne and the Cannibals: Toward a Redefinition of Exoticism.” Cultural Anthropology 5, no. 3 (2009): 292–313. Key primary text: Montaigne’s Essais, especially “Des cannibales” (III:6). Related studies include works on early modern skepticism and anthropology in Montaigne by Michel de Certeau and Bart Moore-Gilbert, alongside modern postcolonial critiques of early modern representations of otherness.