As I read Immanuel Kant’s article, “What is Enlightenment”, the song “The Greatest Show” from the movie The Greatest Showman kept coming to mind. Lyrics such as,
“There's something breaking at the brick of every wall, it's holding
All that you know
So tell me do you wanna go?”, align with Kant’s writing that to be enlightened, one must choose and fight to pursue public, independent thought. Barnum is depicted as a visionary for his time but it is evident that he was one who thought for himself when he pursued his ideas and goals. P.T. Barnum and Kant both want humanity to escape the mundane, ordinary way of thinking and viewing the world. Rather, they challenge their audiences to think for themselves and choose a life that may be more “colorful”.
All that you know
So tell me do you wanna go?”, align with Kant’s writing that to be enlightened, one must choose and fight to pursue public, independent thought. Barnum is depicted as a visionary for his time but it is evident that he was one who thought for himself when he pursued his ideas and goals. P.T. Barnum and Kant both want humanity to escape the mundane, ordinary way of thinking and viewing the world. Rather, they challenge their audiences to think for themselves and choose a life that may be more “colorful”.
I love how Kant begins his article with, “Sapere aude! [Dare to know]” and ends the piece in expressing how a government may see the benefits of enlightenment and begin to “treat men, who are now more than machines, in accordance with their dignity.” In a sense, this framing of the article elicits a challenge to the reader to fight to know and understand, and in so doing, one might create a ripple effect for the betterment of those around them.
This semester, let’s embrace this challenge and fight to understand, even when it may be incredibly difficult at times.
I commented on Jamie Peters and Spencer St. Cyr's blog posts.
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