Comparing Kant And Olaudah Equiano

Where is True Freedom Found for Humanity Throughout the novels of Kant’s What is Enlightenment and Equiano’s The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano both texts discuss what is the true nature of freedom and what is just in allowing humanity to have this freedom. Kant and Equiano are both arguing for a certain level of freedom, but Equiano’s level is very basic, it is rooted in the slaves not having control over their basic level of understanding. Equiano demonstrates the dangers of containing their minds to a level of childlike ignorance, leading them to trust whatever they are told. Kant’s level of freedom discusses the power of independent thought versus being dependent on others’. Kant’s perception of domination exhibits how semi educated adults can be swayed by pressures of society and …show more content…
For example in this quote, “I then asked him the use of it, and who made it; he told me it was snow, but I could not in anywise understand him. He asked me if we had no such thing in my country; I told him, No. I then asked him the use of it, and who made it; he told me a great man in the heavens, called God. But here again I was to all intents and purposes at a loss to understand him...I asked all I could about it; and they gave me to understand it was worshipping God, who made us and all things,” (Equiano,98). Here Equiano paints a picture of how vulnerable he once was and how easily he could be influenced because of how ill educated he was. If he had a person he trusted and that person told him one or another thing he believed them because he had no previous background education to base his thoughts upon and thus he was completely vulnerable just like a child because he never had read any books that explain