Kant at a certain point asks if we at present live in an enlightened age, to which he answers “No, but we do line in an age of enlightenment.” Had to read that twice to understand what he said there. However the first question that popped up in my head was WHEN was this written, for Kant is certainly not a modern day philosopher. My question lead me to the answer of 1784, so what he’s saying is that although the people of the time are not YET enlightened, they are on their way.

Why he sees the world in this way at that time I couldn’t really figure out, as I don’t know much about German history. A factor that would of course play into why he would say such a thing. However I do know that 1784 is when the Treaty of Paris was ratified, making America it’s own nation.

That event in and of itself is worth mentioning with this, as it’s a country that fought back against Great Britain which was the strongest nation on earth at the time and  won.