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Kant’s definition of Enlightenment and Kant’s comparison to Rousseau
1) How Kant did define Enlightenment?
Kant’s two worlds are Noumenal and Phenomenal. As per Kant the world can be seen by the glasses of constructed society in our mind. In our mind we have constructed one image of society, and Enlightenment is to question this construction. Kant says, “Sapere Aude!” (Dare to know), it clearly suggests the self-development. All human beings should have courage to give their own reasons and this is the best model of Enlightenment for Kant. It gives an ability to think for own self. “Have courage to use your own mind!” This is the motto of Enlightenment.
Further he explained that,
“Men work themselves gradually out of barbarity if only intentional artifices are not made to hold them in it”
- What Is Enlightenment?
Another point he gives is,
“Argue as much as you like and about whatever you like, but obey!”
- What Is Enlightenment?
Kant wanted to make room for faith and have reason limited. As per him men should work themselves but also gradually.
Finally his definition of Enlightenment is,
“Enlightenment is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage...”
- What Is Enlightenment?
It is about “dare to know” and “Have courage to use own mind”.
2) Kant compared to Rousseau
If there is a comparison between Kant and Rousseau, there are lots of differences we could find. Kant was a big fan of Rousseau but there is a difference between thinking process and perspective towards of both towards Enlightenment. The major difference is,
Kant – becoming a man of thinking, develop the daring to know the things and try to be a courageous enough to use own mind, but with obeying.
Rousseau - thinks that modernity was a great mistake, and we have to find a cure for that. He understands the enlightenment and rejects it.
As per Kant the enlightenment is the process of self development and makes people to think about what they are doing and what they should do. He gives the theory of two worlds, the phenomenal world and the noumenal world. He wanted to steer a middle course, between skepticism and science. Skepticism tries to find out the truth within the world and science tries to find the truth out of the world. Enlightenment has provided a power to man to think about the world from inside as well as outside. Once the person would enter in the society with thinking, a person would be able to think on the laws and construction with his/her own perspective. As Kant says,
“The touchstone of everything that can be concluded as a law for a people lies in the question whether the people could have imposed such a law on itself.”
- What Is Enlightenment?
On the other hand, Rousseau gives the understanding of Enlightenment in different way. As per him, the person would not think freely. There would be a freedom of thinking in the process of enlightenment but there will be a great loss of morality and humanity. He explains that, the arts and sciences cover up our oppression and make us forget that we are not free. Rousseau in his first discourse says that, the arts and sciences do not promote knowledge and understanding, they promote tyranny and inequality. As per Rousseau the laws which are constructed for men’s well-being, are controlled by sciences. As he explained in Discourse on the sciences and Arts,
“While the Government and the Laws see to the safety and the well-being of men assembled, the sciences, Letters and Arts, less despotic and perhaps more powerful, spread garlands of flowers over the iron chains with which they are laden, throttle in them the sentiments of that original freedom for which they seemed born, make them love their slavery, and fashion them into what is called civilized people”
- Discourse on the sciences and Arts
Kant focuses upon the individual thinking of a man and Rousseau gives a statement that individual thinking cannot be develop much. As per him people are getting further and further away than they naturally should be because Arts and Sciences provided luxuries and it creates new dependency complexes. When people will see scientists and other scholars they will imitate them and will try to be someone else they are not. Thus, they will leave their own identity.
These were the problems stated by Kant and Rousseau, now if we focus upon solutions; both have given different solutions of these problems.
Kant: Men should work themselves but gradually out of barbarity if only intentional artifices are not made to hold them in it.
Rousseau: Learned men of the first rank should be brought in to the political establishment.
Kant gives responsibility to men. As per him men should decide and work by understanding of own self. On the other side Rousseau is very clear that only learned man can be the cure of the disease of corruption and strong influence of Sciences.
If we discuss the definition of Kant with reference with Rousseau, we can say that Rousseau is right on his side in one or the other way because he is thinking about the mass man of modern society and how individuals would lose their individuality under the pressure of fashion, sciences and arts.
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