Kant/ Public vs Private Reason

The political scenery in the last decade, as most elitist and conservatives would note, has washed upon the shores a renascence thinking of the young minds in society. It has propelled individuals to question the thoughts and teachings of their elders, to push back against the laws they are forced to abide by and create a future and life for themselves in a world that they essentially feel comfortable enough to live in. The epitome of this change is, a black man gaining the responsibility of manning the world’s most powerful ship. This analogy is quite ironic as centuries ago his wife’s ancestors were also on, a not so, anecdotal ship as slaves to the very same country he now holds throne in. With that said, young people started to challenge a lot of stagnant, prejudiced practices in this country, some include, racism, gender inequality, and intolerance of sexual orientation. They were able to bring about change in some issues while still fighting to bring justice and light to others. Because a group of individuals decided to question the government and the psychology and philosophy of fellow citizens and transfer their valuable insights to a larger community, change was brought about for many “injustices” in the American community in the very recent years. This all calls to question, does enlightenment, as explained by Immanuel Kant in his manuscript, what is Enlightenment? only occur if public reason (which is also further explained below) is used wisely by the individuals within society? This essay outlines Kant’s thoughts on how enlightenment is prevailed in a community and the roles of public and private reason in being vital cornerstones of enlightenment. It also goes onto analyzing the relationship and the inevitable dependence of private and public reasoning upon one another in creation of enlightenment.

Immanuel Kant, in his works of Practical Philosophy, has a section of work called, “Answer to the question: What is Enlightenment?” Within set work, Kant...