启蒙之思——读康德《回答这个问题:什么是启蒙》

Thinking of Enlightenment——Reading An Answer to the Question:What is Enlightenment?by Kant

康德《回答这个问题:什么是启蒙》这篇文章是关于启蒙运动的一篇重要文献,它为启蒙运动进行了一次重要的辩护。在这篇文章中,康德不仅对启蒙作出了深刻且精练的解释,而且对于如何实现启蒙也进行了详尽的探讨,对于启蒙以及实现启蒙的论述可谓是环环相扣。康德指出,理性的公开运用与理性的私人运用之间的良性互动表明启蒙仍处于进行时。促进和实现社会的进步,正是依靠二者之间的这种重要互动,而二者之间的鸿沟也随之逐步消融。时至今日,康德的启蒙观念对于今天的我们仍然有着非凡的理论价值。

The article An Answer to the Question:What is Enlightenment?by Kant is an important document on the Enlightenment,and it provides an important defense for the Enlightenment.In this article,Kant not only made a profound and refined explanation of enlightenment,but also conducted a detailed discussion on how to realize enlightenment.The discussion on enlightenment and its realization is interlocking.Kant pointed out that the positive interaction between the public use of reason and the private use of reason showed that the enlightenment was still in progress.Promoting and realizing social progress relied on this important interaction between the two,and the gap between the two had gradually disappeared.Up to now,Kant’s enlightenment concept still has extraordinary theoretical value for us.