Within minutes of posting, I received an email (from one of my dissertation advisors, no less!) pointing out that Montaigne did not paint these maxims. He carved them! That's considerably more work and commitment.
I won’t lie, the one thing that stuck out in my mind is: what does Jared’s Mind Shed look like? I enjoy the guilty pleasure of viewing someone else’s library, bookcase, or reading retreat. But an entire shed? Large enough to sit inside and write and shoot? This sounds like something David McCullough would be envious of. If you ever film that, I would watch it. :)
Of course Montaigne read Meditations - he was a huge fan of stoicism. I think about this alot - being also noncomittal - and I've come to a similar conclusion. I LIVE "live, laugh, love". I have a few pieces of art on my wall, mostly by those I know. Most of whats on my wall has a sentimental value and to me that represents my maxims. Thanks for the reminder that there are many ways to dye the mind.
Loved this essay, Jared. Reading and watching your work on YT, I would've thought you'd be committed enough to Aristotle to justify at least one of his ideas/maxims painted (or carved) on your shed. Montaigne was the first philosopher I read and I'm forever indebted to his style of writing that got me thinking about the bigger questions of life. I'm unfamiliar with the Hui book but will check it out now that you mentioned it.
The idea of “dyeing the mind” resonates with me. I’ve long believed our inner world is shaped by what we let repeat, whether we choose it or absorb it from the noise around us. Influence is inevitable, but awareness is the difference-maker. I’m less about carving perfect maxims in stone and more about curating them over time; some mine, some borrowed, some kept because they make me wrestle. If the mind takes its hue from repetition, then the real craft is in being both the dyer and the cloth. I explore this tension in my writing for anyone curious.
It strikes me that the problem of fitness is just a semantic hangup rather than a problem intrinsic to any model of selective pressure. Just as the definition of "fitness" changes based on the conditions of the environment, so do the qualities of a good idea change based on the receptivity of its hosts and the conditions of their minds
I'm surprised to hear that Montagne had maxims carved on his walls. As you say, this early essayist didn't bother with theses or, I'd add, argumentation. (He was clearly not the type to teach a college composition course.) Or I'd say his thesis often shifts as it encounters evidence--shifts that amount to evidence of an open mind, and an interesting one.
I prefer a lazy person's commonplace book. In my journals, I copy out aphorisms and other prose I like. Going back to read them does help to ground me--dye me! I like that--over time.
Within minutes of posting, I received an email (from one of my dissertation advisors, no less!) pointing out that Montaigne did not paint these maxims. He carved them! That's considerably more work and commitment.
At one point, I considered getting a maxim tattooed on my body. But fortunately I was able to talk myself out of it.
I won’t lie, the one thing that stuck out in my mind is: what does Jared’s Mind Shed look like? I enjoy the guilty pleasure of viewing someone else’s library, bookcase, or reading retreat. But an entire shed? Large enough to sit inside and write and shoot? This sounds like something David McCullough would be envious of. If you ever film that, I would watch it. :)
Mostly, people would be surprised by how messy it is.
Of course Montaigne read Meditations - he was a huge fan of stoicism. I think about this alot - being also noncomittal - and I've come to a similar conclusion. I LIVE "live, laugh, love". I have a few pieces of art on my wall, mostly by those I know. Most of whats on my wall has a sentimental value and to me that represents my maxims. Thanks for the reminder that there are many ways to dye the mind.
Half of his quotes are from Seneca, Cicero, and Lucretius.
Loved this essay, Jared. Reading and watching your work on YT, I would've thought you'd be committed enough to Aristotle to justify at least one of his ideas/maxims painted (or carved) on your shed. Montaigne was the first philosopher I read and I'm forever indebted to his style of writing that got me thinking about the bigger questions of life. I'm unfamiliar with the Hui book but will check it out now that you mentioned it.
The idea of “dyeing the mind” resonates with me. I’ve long believed our inner world is shaped by what we let repeat, whether we choose it or absorb it from the noise around us. Influence is inevitable, but awareness is the difference-maker. I’m less about carving perfect maxims in stone and more about curating them over time; some mine, some borrowed, some kept because they make me wrestle. If the mind takes its hue from repetition, then the real craft is in being both the dyer and the cloth. I explore this tension in my writing for anyone curious.
It strikes me that the problem of fitness is just a semantic hangup rather than a problem intrinsic to any model of selective pressure. Just as the definition of "fitness" changes based on the conditions of the environment, so do the qualities of a good idea change based on the receptivity of its hosts and the conditions of their minds
I'm surprised to hear that Montagne had maxims carved on his walls. As you say, this early essayist didn't bother with theses or, I'd add, argumentation. (He was clearly not the type to teach a college composition course.) Or I'd say his thesis often shifts as it encounters evidence--shifts that amount to evidence of an open mind, and an interesting one.
I prefer a lazy person's commonplace book. In my journals, I copy out aphorisms and other prose I like. Going back to read them does help to ground me--dye me! I like that--over time.
So .... Everyone with "Live, Laugh, Love" wall art is essentially channeling Montaigne. Memetic maxims.
I’ve recently been slowly making my way through a Penguin collection of some of Montaigne’s essays. This is a well-timed post!