Scribd
Upload
22 views2 pages

Kant

Uploaded by

mam pap

Kant defines enlightenment as employing one's understanding without guidance from outside authorities and defending the freedom of expression. He argues that lack of bravery and laziness cause people to follow others' advice rather than thinking independently. Today, expressing opinions counter to prohibitions or questioning social structures publicly risks attracting authorities' unwanted attention and punishment, so free thinking is largely limited to close circles.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt

Kant

Uploaded by

mam pap
22 views2 pages
Kant defines enlightenment as employing one's understanding without guidance from outside authorities and defending the freedom of expression. He argues that lack of bravery and laziness cause people to follow others' advice rather than thinking independently. Today, expressing opinions counter to prohibitions or questioning social structures publicly risks attracting authorities' unwanted attention and punishment, so free thinking is largely limited to close circles.

Original Title

485391_Kant

Copyright

© © All Rights Reserved

Available Formats

DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Kant defines enlightenment as employing one's understanding without guidance from outside authorities and defending the freedom of expression. He argues that lack of bravery and laziness cause people to follow others' advice rather than thinking independently. Today, expressing opinions counter to prohibitions or questioning social structures publicly risks attracting authorities' unwanted attention and punishment, so free thinking is largely limited to close circles.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
22 views2 pages

Kant

Uploaded by

mam pap
Kant defines enlightenment as employing one's understanding without guidance from outside authorities and defending the freedom of expression. He argues that lack of bravery and laziness cause people to follow others' advice rather than thinking independently. Today, expressing opinions counter to prohibitions or questioning social structures publicly risks attracting authorities' unwanted attention and punishment, so free thinking is largely limited to close circles.

Copyright:

© All Rights Reserved
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 2

1

“An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” by Kant

Enlightened people are an integral and essential part of society. To understand what

enlightenment is, it is enough to turn to Immanuel Kant: dare to use your mind - this is the motto

of Enlightenment. It is no coincidence that Kant associated independent thinking with courage.

After all, courage is required from a person with danger and risk. Therefore, to think

independently is to believe in conditions of danger. Unfortunately, in modern times, only a tiny

percentage of the population is not afraid to think independently and express their personal

opinion.

In Kant's words, tutelage as "man's inability to employ his understanding without

guidance from another." Being able to think for oneself or free from the influence of any outside

authority is what Kant defined as being enlightened. I certainly concur that this definition is

individualistic. It becomes clear that Kant is primarily interested in defending the freedom of

expression, which he claims is the only prerequisite for the possibility of an enlightened society.

The second noteworthy aspect of Kant's formulation is the idea that immaturity is always

self-imposed and that people who remain unenlightened are accountable for their failures.

Therefore, the immature are only to blame themselves. According to Kant, our laziness and fear

are the only things that cause us to follow other people's advice rather than thinking for

ourselves. Therefore, all we (as individuals) require is the "courage and resolve" to think for

ourselves. He contends that a lack of bravery causes a lack of maturity to utilize one's reason,

intellect, and knowledge without the assistance of another, not by a lack of comprehension. Kant

asserted that all women and most men view using reason as harmful.

Today, people are limited in their right to express their opinions and question social

structures publicly without trying to attract unnecessary attention from the authorities to their
2

personal life. Thinking contrary to specific prohibitions the authors prescribe carries an actual

probability of being punished for failing to comply with the specified. We can express and think

freely without fear and shadows of doubt only in the circle of close people. Even social media, in

these cases, become not an assistant but a weapon against us. Public opinion is sometimes so

strong that it can instantly crush a person and destroy his life with one keystroke.

You might also like