Kant s Views On The Enlightenment And Modernity - 923 Words

The thinkers I have chosen to answer this essay question are J.J. Rousseau and I. Kant. Both thinkers agreed that the Enlightenment would change society as they knew it, that it would allow the human being to develop, both individually and socially. I will consider both thinker’s attitudes as regards to the Enlightenment and Modernity, the individual, and finally to the individual’s responsibility in helping humanity progress towards a peaceful international community. The Enlightenment is the social and cultural period that brought about European Modernity, extending from the last decades of the 17th Century until late 18th Century. Europe was undergoing through times of progress, both scientific and social. It was the age of the Scientific Revolution initiated by Newton, capitalism was emerging as a result of the Industrial Revolution and colonialism, and new democratic ideas were developed by enlightened thinkers (i.e. Diderot or Voltaire). At the same time, the period was strongly influenced by the prevalence of reason; everyone should be free to think for themselves rather than depend on people from higher ranks. With the development of reason and individual freedom, there was the possibility of improving society as it was known. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) was a Swiss philosopher and political theorist, whose ideas inspired leaders of the French Revolution as well as other modern thinkers as Kant and Goethe. Rousseau’s ideas were influenced by HobbesShow MoreRelatedComparing Twentieth Century Political Thought Leo Strauss And Richard Rorty1421 Words   |  6 Pagesinfluence that his former teacher had on his writing. In the following paper I will briefly highlight and critique the fundamental arguments presented by the duo. Certainly, Rorty and Strauss share a degree of commonality in their critique of the Enlightenment. Furthermore, I will assert that Rorty’s ‘pragmatic argument’ and Strauss’ ‘esotericism’ share a degree of kinship. However, when it comes to a close examination of the works of the respective scholars, it becomes clear that they had vastly differentRead MoreRomanticism Essay1493 Words   |  6 Pagesspiritual and fantastic culture of th e middle Ages. Romantics were involved in emotional directness of personal experience and individual imagination and aspiration. It was partly a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature, and was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature. It is one of the curiosities of literary history that the strongholds of the Romantic Movement were EnglandRead MoreHit A Six With Australia s National Identity1465 Words   |  6 Pagesof Australia to establish its identity. The prevalence of cricket in Australia constitutes what Markovits and Hellerman (2001) coin a, â€Å"hegemonic sports culture†, and subsequently represents an influential part of Australian culture. However, the modernity discourse undermines the degree to which Australian identity is taking into account British Legacy.Today the Australian culture is comprised of a differing scope of encounters, nationalities and cultures, subsequently confounding the idea that AustralianRead MoreThe Key Ideas of the Enlightenment Essay1865 Words   |  8 PagesThis essay will be examining the key concepts of the ‘Enlightenment’ also known as â€Å"The Age of Reasonâ€Å" that occurred from the 16th and 17th century, before considering the manner in wh ich it helped to shape the sociological view on societies and how it has linked to the birth of sociology. Before doing so I will give a brief historical context. All the profound questioning that emerged during the Enlightenment came out of the undermining of the old Catholic authority over all social truth thatRead MoreThe s Theory Of Evolution2321 Words   |  10 PagesQuestion 1 As times changed from rural work to the industrial era, the questions of society and individuality arose, bringing up theories from past figures such as Charles Darwin and his arguments on the real ancestors of humans, Immanuel Kant on enlightenment, and Jean-Paul Sartre on existentialism. With the rise of modernism and various forms of reform, the public came to question the religious truth of the Bible and looked to philosophers for answers, re-evaluating the meaning of mankind and theRead MoreDoes Islam Need Reformation Or Do Islamic Societies Need Enlightenment?2635 Words   |  11 Pagesislamophobic figures, in their scorched-earth view of Islam, wage a campaign that reduces an entire scripture of 114 chapters and over 6,000 verses to a few de-contextualized verses, and their criticism of Islam as grossly simplistic and desperate attempt to malign a world religion and a human civilization comparable to others. For a religion, unlike Christianity and Judaism, that didn t expe rience Renaissance, the Reformation and the Enlightenment, and Industrial Revolution, Islam has been comparablyRead MoreNatural Law Theory Essay6453 Words   |  26 PagesPhilosopher Immanuel Kant, who held that, moral reasoning relied upon the condition that all rational individuals are bound to assent. His notion of the ‘categorical imperative’, doing the right thing is not determined by acting in pursuit of ones own interest or desires but acting in agreement with the maxim which all rational individuals are to accept. â€Å"So the act the maxim of which your will can at the same time be universal law† The philosophical ideals defended by Kant and Locke come to beRead MoreMetropolis And Mental Life By Georg Simmel2554 Words   |  11 Pagesclose to us that are influencing our decisions. Being in such close proximity to things, creates a box that we live in, leaving us with little opportunity to broaden our horizons. A review essay by Aram A. Yengoyan discusses Simmel’s thoughts on modernity. He states that there was a difference between objective culture and subjective culture. Objectified goods of culture are the total material and immaterial goods and institutions throughout society. However, understanding how culture works is important;Read MoreAn Illustration of State-Society Relations in Turkey Essay examples4296 Words   |  18 Pagessecular and secularism which has characterised the institutional and legal framework of Turkish society since the foundation of the Republic is tightly linked to the concept of modernity. A legacy of the Enlightenment, modernisation theses hold that as reason supplants superstition, religions influence on society will recede. If Kant held thatt â€Å"the spread of knowledge and reason would mean [†¦] â€Å"holding religion within the bounds of reason†Ã¢â‚¬  (Benhabib, 2010:452), Weber went further to argue that modernisationRead MoreOrga nisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesand provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account of ideas, perspectives and practices of organization. By thoroughly