MONTAIGNE - KNOWLEDGE

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>MONTAIGNE</FONT><BR> THE SCEPTIC</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>What Can we Know?</B></FONT><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>THE SCEPTIC'S VIEW</B></FONT><BR> When Montaigne asks himself "What can I know?", he concludes that there is nothing that he can "know" for certain in the sense of the word "know" as used by the <A HREF="../t03/g043.html" TARGET="_top">rationalists</A> and <A HREF="../t03/g012.html" TARGET="_top">empiricists</A>. Reason, the instrument of learning, is full of contradictions and is incapable of determining any moral laws since the senses, which provide reason with its information, are unreliable. This makes dogmatism impossible and scepticism obligatory. Scholastic philosophy maintained that faith could be supplemented by reason, but Montaigne maintains that the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are incapable of proof. They must be accepted by faith. This is in fact a radical view in the times he he lived which were filled with religious division between the Catholic and Protestant religions. What was to be believed was outlined by church officials in creeds and catechisms.<P> The illustration below is a detail from a painting related to the Confession of Augsburg, a statement of Protestant creed offered by reformers in 1530. This was a final attempt at reconciliation with the Church of Rome and stressed similarities of faith. However, major differences of belief existed concerning the meaning of major sacraments like baptism and communion. Here, the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V discusses matters of doctrine with the Protestant Elector of Saxony. Such meetings failed to resolve the religious differences and Montaigne lived in a time of religious wars between Catholics and Protestants.<P> <IMG SRC="1009a.jpg" WIDTH="250" HEIGHT="176" ALT="AUGSBURG DEBATE"> <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>