Kant's Reason For Un-Enlightenment

From Kant’s philosophical perspective enlightenment is the process by which an individual grows out of self-imposed immaturity and avoids that said immaturity in a definite manner. (Kant 41) People allow themselves to be immature because they are fearful of utilizing and growing their understanding. Another reason for un-enlightenment is the fact that majority of people are slothful and possess as a character trait slothfulness (Kant 41). The common man finds it extremely difficult to overcome immaturity. One of the ways of overcoming this mental barrier is when a person allows themselves to entertain the notion of freedom and decides both subconsciously and consciously to engender it within their psyche. One of these small steps includes the …show more content…
Therefore, the livelihood that human beings are currently experiencing is a direct result of the transformation that has occurred over time. Every new generation develops its own unique philosophical output and methodologies on how to appropriately think; which result in new normative behavior. For example, throughout history, once can highlight the many changes that have arisen, such as America having a political policy of slavery which castigated many Africans into a life of perpetual strife, to the first African-American president of the United States, Barack Obama being voted into office. Great men such as Martin Luther King Jr. possessed the willpower and courage to stand up for what he believed in. This would not have been possible if the notion of free speech was not enshrined in the public institutional framework at the time. It can be argued that we are currently in the century of enlightenment. The millennial generation is experiencing the better portion of results of expressing their views in the private and public spheres. This generation has acquired mass influence through the use of social media particularly and will play a huge role in the direction the global economy will shift towards and also on political and socio-economic …show more content…
In his essay, Kant explained that “government should release the human race from immaturity and leave everyone free to use his own reason in all matters of conscience.” (Kant 45) To clarify, in the Bill of Rights, people have the right to exercise their rights to ensure their freedoms. It would be great misfortune if the government left its citizens to their own demise. The government can not release everyone because it was originally created to enact rules and regulation which ensure law and order prevail. An example of the need for government imposition is the Charter of rights and freedoms. The charter is there to protect individuals’ rights. Likewise, Kant’s religious belief was that “as a priest, he is not free and cannot be such because he is acting under instructions from someone else. For that the (spiritual) guardians of a people should themselves be immature is an absurdity that would insure the perpetuation of absurdities.” (Kant 43) It is my supposition rather that when people come together in the name of God for themselves without the help of a pastor or priest, God is still very much in their midst. Individuals should free to trust in their deity rather than leaning towards priestly anointing. Kant’s definition is contradictory in many ways because religion is a strong