Friday, June 3, 2016

How does Montaigne analyze the ethics of cannibals?

Montaigne analyzes the ethics of cannibals by comparing their ethical system to that of Europeans. In one of his most telling lines, he argues that "we may then call these people barbarous, in respect to the rules of reason: but not in respect to ourselves, who in all sorts of barbarity exceed them." In short, he exercises what we would call today "cultural relativism" in his treatment of the cannibals. He portrays the cannibals as the antitheses of the Europeans. They are honest, guileless, brave, and pragmatic. Their religion is simple, not full of endless debates over dogma like that of the Europeans. He does not defend their cannibalism, but essentially argues that Europeans are in no place to judge them.
In fact, he argues that the cannibals' behavior (essentially eating parts of defeated foes after battle) is less barbaric than the bloodshed that is so characteristic of European wars. Roasting a dead man and eating his flesh, Montaigne says, is not as brutal as burning a man alive because of his religious beliefs. So cannibal ethics are, Montaigne argues, as developed as those of Europeans, and more so in many cases.

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