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Immanuel Kant: What Is Enlightenment?
Brief Reflection on Kant’s Political Philosophy
“[The Enlightenment] is man’s release from his self-incurred tutelage [or immaturity].” — Immanuel Kant
In our youth, we enjoy relative freedom because of our protection from the real world. In a similar way, one of the problems with thinking in 18th century continental Europe, for Kant, was that there was someone who was protecting us from the “burden” of thinking for ourselves. Enlightenment starts with thinking for yourself and “throwing off the yoke of tutelage” which is not thinking for yourself.
To reiterate, the reason Kant observes that there is no freedom around him is because he does not see people thinking for themselves. Kant thus equates freedom in this text specifically with the freedom to think and speak without repercussions.
This freedom is not only beneficial for citizens but also for the government. In fact, Kant writes that more “civil freedom” will only bring “advantage” to “man.” Therefore, freedom is key to fulfilling the full capacity of the mind and of our species.
In a way, Kant is adding to Rousseau’s conception of human perfectibilité; we alone can achieve intellectual maturity among the different species.
