Kant's Analysis of Enlightenment: Reason, Freedom, and Progress

What is Enlightenment? Kant's Text

Part One: The Impossibility of Self-Guidance Without External Help

The primary obstacle to enlightenment is the inability of individuals to use their own intelligence without the guidance of another. This is not due to a lack of intelligence itself, but rather a lack of the decision and courage to think for oneself, without relying on external direction. Many remain in a state of intellectual dependence, where they avoid the effort of independent thought. To overcome this, we must take responsibility for our own thinking and learn from our mistakes. Few have been able to overcome this disability and proceed steadily. When individuals start to think freely, tutors may realize that they have confused or misled their students.

While revolutions can overthrow tyrannical economic or political oppression, they often fail to achieve real reform in the way of thinking. New prejudices can simply replace old ones, limiting the progress of the masses.

Freedom: The key to enlightenment is the ability to make public use of reason entirely. It should be possible to think publicly for oneself, expressing our opinions without fear of prohibition.

Part Two: The Role of Government and Individual Responsibility

The government aims to create responsible citizens. While citizens cannot refuse to fulfill their civic duties, such as paying taxes, they should be free to publicly express their thoughts on the appropriateness or injustice of such payments. Faith is a matter between an individual and God and cannot be explained rationally. Nobody can teach you to think freely if the tutor does not think that way because they are handled by others. The base of education cannot be faith.

Part Three: The Limits of Laws and Regulations

Can we create endless laws and regulations? One generation cannot bind itself to a situation that prevents future generations from expanding their knowledge, correcting errors, and advancing the state of their art. The fate of human nature is in progress. While a people might impose laws on themselves for a short time to ensure order, it is illegal to agree to an unshakeable religious constitution, as this would destroy a whole period in the march of humanity towards its improvement.

Part Four: An Age of Enlightenment, Not Yet Enlightened

We live in an unenlightened era, but one that is striving for enlightenment. There are clear signs that obstacles to enlightenment are declining. Under liberalization, there is no need to fear for peace and unity. The main point of the Enlightenment is the emancipation of men from their self-imposed immaturity, particularly in matters of religion. The tutelage of religion is the most disastrous and dishonorable. Reason illuminates the shadows. A higher degree of civic freedom seems to benefit people's spiritual freedom, but limits are necessary to ensure that all faculties can develop.

Key Phrases

• The illustration is the liberation of man from his guilty disability (being to blame for not thinking for ourselves).
• Sapere aude! (Dare to think!) - Motto of the Enlightenment.
• Argue all you want and what you will, but obey!
• There is no reason but to be obeyed.
• Do we live in an enlightened age? The answer is: no, but certainly in the age of enlightenment. Because we need to move forward and each time it is changing constantly, but we could not develop.