Rocco D’Ambrosca: 09/14/2009
The modern world with all its problems would still be considered a utopia by almost all who have come before it. Today, human rights are a major concern and issue. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations mandates specific freedoms and/or rights all human beings on this planet deserve and are entitled to echoing the majority of the world’s countries. Today, the internet connects people and information in a way completely unprecedented. We have the technology to access any information, contact any person, and transmit or view all kinds of media instantly from the palm of our hand. In addition, we have the technology to travel through space, fly around the globe in hours not months, and greatly increase our longevity with ever increasing medical knowledge and practices. Today, there is complete freedom in the arena of style, music, theatre, or any other expression of the arts. All of this can be, in one way or another, directly attributed to the Age of Enlightenment and the figures that populated it. By reflecting upon the major values of the Enlightenment, including freedom, progress, cosmopolitanism, and hostility to mere tradition, it will be shown that an enlightened person is a god among men.
The leaders of the Enlightenment had many goals, but the definition of their intent can most easily be summed up by Immanuel Kant, saying “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another.” (Kant 1). Be a leader, not a follower, is what Kant is saying here. We must all be leaders who cooperate with each other; a pack of wolves who always challenge the alpha for his worth. Kant and his contemporaries want the people to think for themselves, and by doing so, see the wrongs of their leaders. Kant says, “Have courage to use your own understanding!” and that this is the motto of enlightenment (Kant 1). The leaders of the enlightenment want the people to be watchdogs, not sheep lead to slaughter. These watchdogs are entitled to bark not bite. Kant expresses this as, “Argue as much as you want and about what you want, but obey!” (Kant 2). They are to shape the political structure and society through reasoned argument, not a mob with pitchforks. “Perhaps a revolution can overthrow autocratic despotism and profiteering or power-grabbing oppression, but it can never truly reform a manner of thinking” (Kant 2). Kant believes that freedom is the only thing required for enlightenment saying, “The public use of one’s reason must always be free, and it along can bring about enlightenment among mankind” (Kant 2). The hope is for all to constantly question each other, acting as a system of checks and balances ensuring that everyone does the very best that they can with the knowledge we share.
This author believes enlightenment to be many things, all analogous and instrumental to each other. Enlightenment is a state of mind everyone should strive to achieve and stay in as often as possible. It is a weigh station in the realm of the astral plane where your future, past, and present are all accessible and available for contemplation. You can assess past goals, future dreams, and current undertakings. You analyze your relations with yourself, friends, and family. Upon examination of all this information you begin to formulate plans and the means for their execution. But, this state of mind is only as useful as what you bring back from it.
The truly enlightened figures are gods among men. They are fully matured in every area possible. They are perfect physical specimens, multi-linguists, multi-instrumentalists, mentally unmatched, morally incorruptible, and emotionally indestructible. They know exactly what they want in life, how to get it, and what to do with it when they get it. They strive for excellence in everything possible and never turn down a challenge because it would only be a chance to learn something new. The truly enlightened person not only knows the path but is in lockstep upon it and sees no end or deviation.
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