Hello everyone!

My name is Alejandro Canon, and I am a student of Entrepreneurship. I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, but have lived in a lot of different places. My interests include music, film, philosophy, finance, and comparative religion. I am currently obsessed with Bob Dylan.

I guess I’ll start by saying that I was familiar with Kant’s work before reading this essay, and I am a big fan of his ethics. In “What is Enlightenment,” Kant expresses his ideas about the intellectual progress and free thought. More specifically, Kant defines enlightenment as the ability to think freely, or without the guidance of some higher authority. The author illustrates the mechanisms that have kept most of humanity in darkness since the dawn of time. Kant argues that people can only reach intellectual maturity by exercising freedom of thought and public expression without fear of punishment. It is important to note that Kant does not condone acting irresponsibly in one’s private position within society. In other words, it is wrong for a soldier to disobey orders from his or her commanding officer, or even argue against said orders while on duty. An enlightened soldier would follow orders, but use their position as a learned member of society to critique the commands of their officer in public discourse.

I really enjoyed this reading. I was particularly delighted by the beautiful imagery in the first few paragraphs. The arguments Kant puts forward in this essay are all very persuasive, and they were generally clear and easy to follow. Although I was skeptical regarding Kant’s ideas about having “freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters,” his subsequent clarifications were convincing.

I do not think that we live in an enlightened world by any definition. I believe that absolute enlightenment is an abstract goal, although it is undoubtedly one worthy of pursuit. A world were every person is fully intellectually mature is a long ways off at best. Dogmatism is as strong as ever, and there are threats to our freedom of thought on many fronts. If anything, I think that we must be forever vigilant and never take free expression for granted. Enlightenment is not about achieving a resounding victory, it is about fighting a never-ending battle.