Is Cannibalism An Alternative Lifestyle?
American educators have introduced this multicultural message remarkably well, with considerable help from the folks in Hollywood. Over the years, I have been able to measure the impact by assigning a brief section from Montaigne’s essay “On Cannibalism” to my advanced placement courses in European history. Montaigne, you will recall, was attempting to encourage a greater tolerance between Catholics and Huguenots in 16th century France by pointing out how difficult it would be to convince a cannibal, whose tribe had been practicing cannibalism without shame from time immemorial, that there was something immoral about the practice. You could not use the Bible to make your point to the cannibal in question, since he would not concede its authority. European-defined notions of human rights would not get you very far either: his village elders used their human reason to conclude that cannibalism was entirely proper. Needless to say, Montaigne’s point was not that cannibalism was a good thi
