Anmool Singh
Professor Turnbull
21 October 2017
Kant’s Idea of Enlightenment Immanuel Kant's meaning of enlightenment is when somebody is able to think on their own terms, where someone can form their own opinion and say on a matter without his/her hand being held. Kant's meaning of Enlightenment in his own words is “enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity [or tutelage]. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another”( Kant 54). Kant is basically saying here that there are these few people in a confined part of society …show more content…
He says in the beginning of the essay “dare to use your own understanding” (Kant 54). In this quote he is sarcastically saying how can one think for themselves, why are they not following someone else's opinion or knowledge. If you were to strictly take this quote out of context you would think Kant wants a society where there is an uprising and people are speaking out against what’s bad in the world which is something he does not stand for. He wants people to have a discussion but obey everyone and at anytime. He says “Argue as much as you like, and about whatever you like, but obey!” (Kant 55). This is somewhat hypocritical because in some part of the essay he taunts people for listening to others and then proceeds to say you can have your own thoughts and discussion but still open what we can assume as the higher …show more content…
I think this for the exact reason Kant mentions in his essay. He says that we are so used to seeking and listening to other people opinions that we block out our ability to filter through their information and take a step back to see if it’s actually true. For example, if a doctor diagnosed you with a fever and prescribed you a medicine, you wouldn’t second guess his opinion because he has gone through so many years of training to be in the profession but there is still an off chance that he is incorrect and diagnosed the wrong ailment. When it comes to the discussion of whether Kant is optimistic, I would say he is because he says “Only a few, by cultivating their own minds, have succeeded in freeing themselves from immaturity and in continuing boldly on their way. There is more of a chance of an entire public enlightening itself.” (Kant 55). From this sentence I get a sense of optimism and think he has faith in society to push through and even though he knows that an entire society achieving enlightenment is impossible, he still thinks if one person starts to think on their own terms it is a step in the right direction. Which is rather odd because at some points of the essay Kant seems to praise people who try to think for themselves and then he says even though we can
Professor Turnbull
21 October 2017
Kant’s Idea of Enlightenment Immanuel Kant's meaning of enlightenment is when somebody is able to think on their own terms, where someone can form their own opinion and say on a matter without his/her hand being held. Kant's meaning of Enlightenment in his own words is “enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity [or tutelage]. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own understanding without the guidance of another. This immaturity is self-incurred if its cause is not lack of understanding, but lack of resolution and courage to use it without the guidance of another”( Kant 54). Kant is basically saying here that there are these few people in a confined part of society …show more content…
He says in the beginning of the essay “dare to use your own understanding” (Kant 54). In this quote he is sarcastically saying how can one think for themselves, why are they not following someone else's opinion or knowledge. If you were to strictly take this quote out of context you would think Kant wants a society where there is an uprising and people are speaking out against what’s bad in the world which is something he does not stand for. He wants people to have a discussion but obey everyone and at anytime. He says “Argue as much as you like, and about whatever you like, but obey!” (Kant 55). This is somewhat hypocritical because in some part of the essay he taunts people for listening to others and then proceeds to say you can have your own thoughts and discussion but still open what we can assume as the higher …show more content…
I think this for the exact reason Kant mentions in his essay. He says that we are so used to seeking and listening to other people opinions that we block out our ability to filter through their information and take a step back to see if it’s actually true. For example, if a doctor diagnosed you with a fever and prescribed you a medicine, you wouldn’t second guess his opinion because he has gone through so many years of training to be in the profession but there is still an off chance that he is incorrect and diagnosed the wrong ailment. When it comes to the discussion of whether Kant is optimistic, I would say he is because he says “Only a few, by cultivating their own minds, have succeeded in freeing themselves from immaturity and in continuing boldly on their way. There is more of a chance of an entire public enlightening itself.” (Kant 55). From this sentence I get a sense of optimism and think he has faith in society to push through and even though he knows that an entire society achieving enlightenment is impossible, he still thinks if one person starts to think on their own terms it is a step in the right direction. Which is rather odd because at some points of the essay Kant seems to praise people who try to think for themselves and then he says even though we can