The way that Kant described Enlightenment made the most sense to me, really grabbing my attention. “Enlightenment is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage.” In other words, enlightenment is when one is able to form thoughts, opinions, conclusions, etc. without direction from another. This may come off as a simple task, but is far from it. In Kant’s “What Is Enlightenment?,” he breaks down the obstacles and reasons that keeps man from being enlightened, as well as what kind scenarios and actions are needed to overcome the barriers to enlightenment.

People are lazy and scared of change and to think for themselves, especially in today’s day and age. Formulating one’s own opinion on any given topic has become such a courageous act, that it could even be considered a rare trait, and is often seen as far out and crazy by those who don’t understand or agree with it. Hence, the fear of even attempting it, or sharing it with the public, at least. Take students in a classroom for example, there have been countless occasions where the professor has asked the class a question and students have been scared to share their answer; the best occasions have been when the questions were opinion-based, meaning no necessarily correct answer. The students, like most of mankind, are scared to share their opinion with the class (world) because they do not want to risk being ridiculed and seen as different by their peers.

However, man is not to blame when they have been brought up in such an obedient seeking society. We are taught to do as authority figures say, without question, and are penalized when we do otherwise. At home, we do not question our parents’ requests; at school, we listen and do as our teachers say; on the street, we dare not even come off as questioning authority by those in uniform. Kant says that only those who are enlightened will tell you to argue as much as you like and argue about what you obey.

Enlightenment, I used to understand it as the state of being enlightened which requires more that one person.  Just like the meaning in the story From Life of a Sensuous Woman. The woman was being enlightened by a man at the end, she changed her mind from commit suicide to devote herself to meditation. But, In the What is Enlightenment? by Immanuel Kant, he described Enlightenment as  man’s ability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. He believed that Enlightenment is based on freedom– everyone can use his or her reasons at any time in any place.

I think Kant’s points really make sense. He showed us the proper attitude toward learning and life. Society in 2017 is very different compare to society in 18th century, we do not have much restrictions on what we can think or express. But, many of us are still bounded by ourselves (we try to avoid questioning or challenging things that other people gave us because our laziness and helplessness). We get use to follow other people’s thought, advice, or etc…  For example,  Math. Since my minor is math, I took relatively more math courses than  business major with other minor. I think I never questioned about how we got the formula or theories. I took those formula or theories as facts without thinking. I do not want to dig into it because it is more works for me. Doing this does not harm my math course grade but it certainly harms my  progress in Math. If everyone is doing the same thing (take knowledge from another as facts without thinking), the society wouldn’t progress, the human would not progress.

The motto: Dare to know! should be our ideal attitude toward learning and life. We should have our own thought, ability of independent and rational thinking, and try to explore and understand things rather than take it as facts from others.

With the human cognitive developed from ignorance to ration, knowledge based on facts makes human better knowing themselves and the world, helping them to control their own desire. Life would be struggling for people who are ignorant or thinking of this world only by feelings. It says in the article, ‘Life could be understood as a struggle between rationality and emotion, with feeling frequently exercising controlling force.” (93) This struggle also happens in the article of ‘life of a sensuous women’, the narrator struggled all her life time between physical love and emotion love. Probably because the narrator lived in the community where knowledge was closed and limited, and the only thing she could used to think of this world is just her feeling, which is irrational.

It also says, “The gap between the ideal and the actual caused frustration and often despair’.  We, as human beings, live in nature and make connection with nature every single day. Human have to make connection with nature and real world through gaining more and more knowledge based on facts, forcing human better understand this world. Without understanding the nature, human beings feel frustrated and painful because the difference of their feeling and real world. Thus, Enlightenment can help us get through the gap between emotion and ration.

In old society, treatment for men and women are unequal. This unequal treatment breaks the relationship between women and men, binding the improvement of community. This happens in ‘Life of a sensuous woman’. The narrator was born to service to men. The society clamp down women, making her feel low and ashamed during their life time. However, the Enlightenment as a way let men and women connected by making them know the vital of marriage which is a small community.

Although irrational experience to some extent binds us understanding the community, it is humanity which is fundamental thing of this world. It says “rationality thus lies below all apparently irrational experience.” I think the rational thing here indicates the universal that will never change which is humanity. Our values and knowledge changes all the time, but all of these based on humanity.

Immanuel Kant “What is Enlightenment?”

In Kant’s essay, he discusses the reasons why there are deficiencies of enlightenment and some methods that people need to elevate enlightenment. Kant hopes people have the courage to seek truth for themselves, not just follow the opinions of authorities. He thinks the real enlightenment is when people are free enough to think and act by themselves, people no longer need to rely on other people or authorities’ opinions to judge and understand things.

I strongly agree with Kan’s standpoint. Nowadays, lots of people like an easeful life, without too much undulation and challenging. People would like to follow the prescribed order; therefore, lack of creativity and imagination are becoming a universal phenomenon in our everyday life. It just likes the story I have heard, when the teacher asked kids “what does the moon look like?” One kid answered: like a banana. But the teacher told him it’s a wrong answer, the right answer should be a ship. Why must ship to be the only correct answer? Moon could be looked like an eyebrow, a sickle, a ladder, it could be anything. The answer should be varied and creative. We don’t need to always follow what people have said. As Kant mentioned, we should learn how to express ourselves openly in public. We have to realize that when we are getting used to relying on other people, and follow what people tell us to do. It would be more difficult for you to think and act on your own way. We need to break out the pattern, if you never try, you will never know what you are capable of.

MINJI KIM
IMMANUEL KANT-What Is Enlightenment?
According to the article, he argues about Enlightenment. He says humans need to have courage to use their own knowledge so as to struggle with a society and a hierarchical society and for enlightenment. And then he criticizes religion’s interference that many things like free are limited by religious matters.
I have a same idea with Kant for men need to have courage to use their own knowledge. You nowadays prefer staying safe than challenging to new things as you are used to stay safe by a society. Some parents and teachers at schools in some countries in the world even discourage their kids from trying to new things that have possibility to lead chaotic in the society. You are educated to make a better society. If you accept a given regulation and norm made by authorized organizations and states without your free will, then you do not need to have an education and you are just a stuffed pig because the stuffed pig has no ideas after being fed by its owner or its guardian and it just stays in one location until being fed by its owner or guardian again. In this point, if you just accept a given society made by authorized powers, then your power will be limited to complain something in a society to governments. However, if you attempt to change the given one to a new one, then you will have a power that is possible to change the society although there will be many trials and errors in a process. By many trials and errors, you can be a real human. A human is a thinking and practical animal, not the stuffed pig.