Illustration of the French philosopher and aristocrat Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, Lord of Montaigne (1533-1592). Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. His Essays had a direct influence on scientists and philosophers and psychologists across hundreds of years. Montaignes remark, Que scay-je? (What do I know?) embodied the spirit of doubt at once in ones own perception and observation, while at the same time regarding it as the only thing to depend on. He had very forward looking views on how a childs curiosity can be harnessed for education by experience rather than rote learning. Illustration from 1864.