Immanuel Kant: What is Enlightenment?
I gave you this document today in class.
Read this excerpt from Kant's essay. What does he say is the definition of Enlightenment? What is Kant's opinion of the role of freedom? Choose a few of Kant's ideas and make general comments on them.
Due: MIDNIGHT, Monday, Oct. 30
Read this excerpt from Kant's essay. What does he say is the definition of Enlightenment? What is Kant's opinion of the role of freedom? Choose a few of Kant's ideas and make general comments on them.
Due: MIDNIGHT, Monday, Oct. 30
posted by RJS at
8:14 AM
6 Comments:
Kant says that enlightenment is the escape from immaturity. Immaturity, according to Kant, is when someone needs guidance from someone else for all aspects of thought. He believes that freedom is necessary for enlightenment, but by freedom he only means a basic freedom of public speech and reason, allowing everyone to express an individual opinion to hopefully set the example for everyone else. I do agree with his thoughts on revolution, that they do not in the end contribute to enlightenment because of their inescapable prejudice against their opposite. Whenever major changes must be made, humans tend to go for the exact opposite rather than an better medium option, unfortunately. I also like his belief that humanity generally seeks comfort by escaping thought and reality, or as John Lennon says in a line of Strawberry Fields Forever, "Living is easy with eyes closed".
By
Unknown, at Monday, October 30, 2006 5:13:00 PM
Kant defines being enlightened as thinking independently and courageously and not depending upon the acceptance of the knowledge of others. He believes that freedom is the absence of the laziness and cowardice that prevents people from resisting the imposition of others' knowledge. Those who take it upon themselves to be "guardians" of the unenlightened have those people in their control. He advocates individual expression to break through the generalized and biased views people may have. Kant's ideas could easily pertain to many widely accepted aspects of today's society. Certain condecending ideas we hear daily from the television about our diets and health are not necesarily true, but often to sell drugs and to tighten the grasp of power the "guardians" hold on our mindset, paving the way for more guardians to come and furthering the "flock's" acceptance of what they say. We also find the need to pay for the services of others that, if we put our minds to it, we could learn for ourselves. There should be an Enlightenment right now to run against the same ideas in society that Kant faced over two hundred years ago, because there seems to be a greater percentage of people willing to believe everything anybody tells them all of a sudden, and its really not necessary.
By
Victoria, at Monday, October 30, 2006 8:22:00 PM
What beautiful thoughts. Kant has impressed me more than any philosopher we have studied thus far. Kant's idea of enlightenment is that of thinking on our own. Apparently (and correctly) many people and content with and require training wheels on their thoughts. Kant stresses the need to remove them. True, one might receive a skinned knee, but also the gain of riding alone. He expresses the by now familiar maxim to question everything and use reason to derive answers. He writes as an advocate of this reason in every area, even pushing his own version of the Golden Rule.
Kant wants more than for men to ride their metaphorical bicycles- he wants them to ride them in public. Whenever anyone attempts to think for us we are to stop and reason out the chain of events on our own. Just because a, say, teacher tells us something does not make it true. Questioning everything we hear can either reconfirm and highlight a truth or correct an error- both of which are extremely desirable. Some of my teachers have said similar things already. My math teacher asks us to look deeper into financial plans and actually apply our Calculus to see for ourselves the best course of action. My history teacher is only too happy to address ( and 90% smugly correct) any discord in opinion among students. Please dont' fail me because of that.
Finally, Kant asks us to break away from our own paradigms and view the world openly. Think before you act, and be sure that you are the one doing the thinking.
By
ThomasBatson, at Monday, October 30, 2006 10:37:00 PM
Immanuel Kant, aside from having an awesome name, was a philosopher who defined enlightenment as man's emergance from immaturity. Thus, to become mature. Maturity entails the ability to think for one's self, without the guidance of another. Kant says that even though man may be free, he may remain immature by having others look after him since he is lazy and fearful. It is so much easier to allow others to make descisions for you! But then you are not thinking and therefore not being enlightened. So to be enlightened requires freedom from others.
I really liked Kant's metaphor with domestic animals. How their masters make sure the animals don't stray from the master's control by showing them the danger and keeping them afraid. Of course the danger is not as great as it is made out to be but the masters can portray it as they choose in order to make sure the animals don't try to escape. The same as with people, they are kept inline and shown the alleged dangers of the outside world, so they stay in their lines and think themselves free since they have chosen themselves to remain in line.
I also agree with Kant's statement about the arguing. "The officer says: Don't argue, drill! The tax collector: Don't argue, pay! The pastor: Don't argue, believe!" Kant says that these things are hampering enlightenment, and they are. Argument implies the presence of thought, you have an opinion that apparently differs from someone else's. When someone tells you not to argue and simply do something without resistance or thought, then no one is seeing any new ideas, no other points of view but instead turning their backs on their own thoughts to do as they are told.
By
manxomefoe, at Monday, October 30, 2006 10:58:00 PM
Kant basically states that people are often immature in the way that they will not couple their intelligence with determination or will power, and it is this lack of maturity in this sense that keeps the general populace under the thumb of a few. He also states that if people were to simply use and apply reason, which all persons are capable of, the world would be a far larger and more interesting place. I do agree on his statements that people in large part do not use their intelligence because it is far more comfortable not to do so. One must make a concious effort to put one's self to use, even if it would be far the easier thing to simply float. Allowing yourself to be herded and guided through life may perhaps be the most terrible sort of self murder. By forfeiting choice of thought and action to someone else, one loses one's identity. Kant states that one should make constant public use of one's reason, that one should question and not merely be one of the great unthinking mass.
By
laura, at Tuesday, October 31, 2006 4:14:00 PM
Kant says that Enlightenment is the ability to shed immaturity and ignorance and the courage to use and defend your own reason. He also underlines that one should have the power to publicly argue your reason. Kant says that freedom is the ability to contend without consequence. This freedom plays an important role in bringing about Kant's ideal Enlightenment.
I completely and unquestioningly agree with Kant's opinion that laziness and cowardice being a typically large portion of human nature greatly contributes to why man remains immature. Because people are afraid of things such as change or variety or are too lazy to be various or changing, they tend to remain ignorant to new ideas. Something most people today need to consider is Kant's view that people rely on others to work for them; be it to advise, do for, or think for.
It's an awesomely sweet passage, this particular blog.
By
TeganLove, at Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:57:00 PM
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