More Cannibals

What defines barbary? How do you define barbary? These are two of the questions raised with Montaignes's text, Of Cannibals. Of the two ideas on how to decide what is barbaric and what is not barbaric, I think that Montaigne uses reason to define how other cultures are barbaric. If he used the social standards of where he lives, he would not call his own society barbaric (as he seems to imply).

Montaigne thinks that his society is bias in the way in which they view barbary because they do so without reason. He states at the bottom of page 20 the following:
"And lest it be thought that all this is done through simple and serivle bondage to useage and through the pressure of the authority of their ancient customs, without reasoning or judgement, and because their minds are so stupid that they cannot take any other course."
I think that Montaigne is making a subtle point here: it is the history of the society to use authority of ancient customs and not reason or judgement to decide whether or not something is barbaric.

You know how it is impossible to not think about the reward of some acts, as demonstrated previously in class? Well, I think that is almost as impossible to suppress the influences of the society that you live in when you judge other cultures.