Immanuel Kant - "What is Enlightenment?"
Moses Mendelssohn - "What is Enlightenment?"
Free online PDFs above translated by Dr. James Schmidt, Boston University
We have discussed how Descartes led philosophy down the wrong path. We have read critiques by both Heidegger and Sartre. Last group, we got to go on a journey with Dostoyevsky, asserting his freedom, independence, and will against the systems and calculated optimism of progress in 19th-century Russia (Marxism, Darwinism, etc.). Dostoyevsky wanted to suffer...to feel love, however irrational it may have seemed. This was his "most advantageous advantage."
What about the men of the Enlightenment? How did they actually view reason as our guide? As far as 18th-century philosophers go, it's hard to figure a more prodigious and influential thinker than Kant. In many ways, we are still resting in his shadow. Moses Mendelssohn was a Jewish philosopher and theologian, the grandfather of the great Felix Mendelssohn, the romantic composer. Both of these philosophers responded to a query by the Berlin Monthly asking, "What is Enlightenment?" While the usage and the idea had been percolating, there hardly was a consensus on what it meant in the late 18th century.
On a personal note: Rebecca and I got to see an exhibit in Berlin, Germany at the Altes Museum called Was ist Aufklärung. In fact, I saw both Kant's and Mendelssohn's essays in an original publication of the Berliner Monthly. So let us ponder the selfsame question: what is enlightenment, and what does this mean for us and our society today?
Format:
6:30-7:45 pm - Discussion of the text
7:45-7:50 pm - Brief intermission for restroom and stretching
7:50-8:30 pm - Open dialogue on themes or concepts from the text
About:
You can find us outside in the back at the Soulful Steep Cafe. Bring the current discussion text (it’s OK if you don’t have it or haven’t read it—still come!), questions, and an open mind. The environment is casual; however, be prepared for thoughtful and challenging discussion.
Rules:
- Respect one another
- Engage each other honestly
- Don’t interrupt
- Seek to understand
- Allow others to speak
We hope to see you there!
