16th century
Luther blows up the Church. Montaigne invents doubt
What happened — and why
The Reformation (1517)
Luther nails up his 95 theses. The Church splits. Religious wars kill millions.
The philosophical cause
Luther — Luther had read Augustine: salvation is not bought with money or earned by works — it comes only through faith and grace. Consequence: the pope is not needed.
The schism of Christianity, then the Thirty Years' War, and Descartes seeks a foothold outside religion.
Montaigne invents the essay
Montaigne shuts himself in his tower and writes the "Essays" — the first book about what it is like to be a human being from the inside.
The philosophical cause
Montaigne — After the religious wars he trusts no side. The only thing he can honestly investigate is himself.
Montaigne invents a genre we still use today. And he poses the question "What do I know?" — which Descartes will take up 50 years later.
