Enlightenment

Enlightenment

Table of Contents

This chapter assesses the term enlightenment. According to Immanuel Kant, enlightenment encompasses the liberation of the human brain from misconceptions. He also emphasizes on the significance of courage towards an individual’s development. For instance, it is difficult for any individual to reason rationally without being courageous. The absence of coercion serves as an instrumental pillar towards enhancing knowledge. This is because enlightenment best occurs through freewill. Immanuel Kant further emphasizes on the pertinent role of using one’s knowledge courageously even in the public. With the relevant confidence, an individual should not shy away from expressing his knowledge to the public. In essence, we live in an age of enlightenment and not necessarily an enlightened age. This is because there are numerous avenues for accessing information and thus knowledge.


 

The term enlightenment is epitomized by the use of autonomous reason in all aspects of life. This implies that people should focus upon being autonomous in their line of thinking and also in their behavior. According to Immanuel Kant, this is the pinnacle of enlightenment. Whereas many people claim to be enlightened, they do not have the relevant courage to stand for their beliefs in the public. This chapter is highly insightful in terms of shedding light on the different attributes on enlightenment.


 

People have different perceptions towards enlightenment. For instance, some people emphasize strongly upon the essence of education as an attribute of enlightenment (Schmidt, 1996). On the other hand, some people perceive social interactions as the most essential components of enlightenment. Whereas these perceptions might have some basis, the maintenance of autonomy is the single-most vital attribute in enlightenment. All these attributes depict the different perspectives that are evident in the chapter.

 


Reference

Schmidt, J. (1996). What is enlightenment? CA: University of California Press





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