« Se condouloir » à distance

Abstract

From the 14th century onwards, the notion of compassio was reinterpreted, or even reinvented, in the context of medicine and natural philosophy, notably through the commentaries on section 7 of the Problemata physica attributed to Aristotle. Pietro d’Abano’s Expositio, the reference commentary until the 16th century, coined the neologism condolor while introducing the criterion of resemblance (similitudo): compassion decreases as proximity (ontological, geographical, familial) diminishes. As a critical heir of this tradition, Montaigne tackles the problem of compassion in a lucid and original way: on the one hand, he questions the principle of a more or less strong compassion according to the resemblance of beings, and breaks with the compassionate reflexes of two very distinct socio-cultural groups (the vulgar for the spectacle of public executions, the gentilhommerie for the hunt); on the other hand, he is very explicitly interested in the ambiguity of its motives.

Keywords

• condolor
• Montaigne
• animals
• plants
• scale of beings
• similitudo