启蒙定界:康德启蒙观的革命性意义

Demarcation of Enlightenment:Revolutionary Significance of Kant's Idea of Enlightenment

康德的《答复这个问题:"什么是启蒙运动?"》一直被奉为启蒙思想家对启蒙的经典定义。因此,后现代主义对启蒙的批判往往把矛头指向康德的这篇文章。事实上,康德的启蒙观必须在启蒙运动的问题情境中,并结合他的其他著述才能获得完整的理解。康德将启蒙置于人自身的理性自决的前提之下,强调理性实践运用的自由原则,从而使其启蒙定界获得了革命性的内涵,显示了植根现实的强烈的政治批判和宗教批判精神。

＂What Is Enlightenment＂ put forward by Kant and his idea of enlightenment should be considered against the context of Prussian enlightenment movement and understood with the help of his other works. His idea of enlightenment reveals intense spirit of political and religious critique rooted in reality; at the same time, Kant places enlightenment on the basis of rational self-determination of man and emphasizes principle of freedom in rational practical application, thus lending the revolutionary connotation to the demarcation of enlightenment, which is still a model today.