The Enlightenment: the birth of critical thinking [601305]

The Enlightenment: the birth of critical thinking

"Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity."

The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) was a

cultural movement of intellectuals in the 17th and 18th centuries, which began first in

Europe and later in the American colonies. Its purpose was to reform society using

reason, challenge ideas grounded in tradition and faith, and advance knowledge

through the scientific method. It promoted scientific thought, skepticism and intellectual

interchange and opposed superstition, intolerance and some abuses of power by the

church and the state. The ideas of the Enlightenment have had a major impact on the

culture, politics, and governments of the Western world.
​
The Enlightenment ultimately

gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.
​
It was marked by an emphasis on the
​
scientific

method
​
and
​
reductionism
​
along with increased questioning of religious orthodoxy – an

attitude captured by the phrase
​
Sapere aude
​
, "Dare to know".

“The Enlightenment has been blamed for many things. It has been held responsible for

the French Revolution, for totalitarianism, and for the view that nature is simply an

object to be dominated, manipulated, and exploited. It has also been implicated in one

way or another in European imperialism and the most aggressive aspects of capitalism.

While some have insisted that its skepticism about “absolute values” infects our culture

with a “nihilistic sluggishness,” others have suggested that liberal societies should divest

themselves of the Enlightenment’s obsession with “philosophical foundations
​
.”

1

To understand this cultural movement,I have to present the common themes of rational

questioning and belief of the individual Enlightenment thinkers,although they had

different approaches. The most important themes are the following:

●
Man is not innately deprived.

●
The aim of life is life itself not the afterlife.

●
The
essential
condition
for
the
good
life
on
Earth
is
to
freeing
of
men’s
minds

from ignorance and superstitions.

●
Man,
free
of
ignorance
and
of
the
arbitrary
powers
of
the
State,
is
capable
of

progress and perfection.

1

​
James Schmidt,
​

​
Introduction: What Is Enlightenment? A Question, Its Context, and Some Consequences
​

​
(pp. 1-44)

1

●
Everything
is
interconnected
and
forms
part
of
the
grand
scheme
of
a

benevolent Providence.

The
German
moral
philosopher,
Immanuel
Kant
wrote
in
an
influential
and
monumental

essay, “What is Enlightenment” the following remarkable words:

“Enlightenment
is
man’s
emergence
from
his
self-incurred
immaturity.
Immaturity
is
the

inability
to
use
one’s
understanding
without
the
guidance
of
another.This
immaturity
is

self-incurred
if
its
cause
is
not
lack
of
understanding,
but
lack
of
resolution
and
courage

to use it without the guidance of another.”

The
strict
requirements
of
Enlightenment
require
passion
for
reason
and
the
utilization

of
one’s
understanding,
not
only
for
the
benefit
of
the
individual
but
also
for
the
greater

good
of
Humanity.
Again
to
quote
the
succinct
words
of
our
German
philosopher,

Immanuel Kant:

“Nothing
is
required
for
this
enlightenment,
however,
except
freedom;
and
the
freedom

in
question
is
the
least
harmful
of
all,
namely,
the
freedom
to
use
reason
publicly
in
all

matters.
But
on
all
sides
I
hear:
“Do
not
argue!”
The
officer
says,
“Do
not
argue,
drill!”

The
tax
man
says,
“Do
not
argue,
pay!”
The
pastor
says,
“Do
not
argue,
believe!”
(Only

one
ruler
in
the
World
says,
“Argue
as
much
as
you
want
and
about
what
you
want,
but

obey!”)
In
this
we
have
examples
of
pervasive
restrictions
on
freedom.
But
which

restriction
hinders
enlightenment
and
which
does
not,
but
instead
actually
advances
it?
I

reply:
The
public
use
of
one’s
reason
must
always
be
free,
and
it
alone
can
bring
about

enlightenment among mankind…”

Undeniably,
there
is
no
shadow
of
doubt
that
blind
obedience
is
the
nemesis
of
critical

thinking,
in
the
same
vein
that
unreasonable
or
dogmatic
faith
is
the
enemy
of

Enlightenment.

He
considered
that
the
root
causes
of
man’s
darkness
of
his
mind
that
breeds

immaturity and inability to think for oneself are the laziness and cowardice.

“Laziness
and
cowardice
are
the
reasons
why
a
large
proportion
of
men,
even
when

nature
has
long
emancipated
them
from
alien
guidance
(naturaliter
maiorennes),

nevertheless
gladly
remain
immature
for
life.
For
the
same
reasons,
it
is
all
too
easy
for

others
to
set
themselves
up
as
their
guardians.
It
is
so
convenient
to
be
immature!
If
I

have
a
book
to
have
understanding
in
place
of
me,
a
spiritual
adviser
to
have
a

conscience
for
me,
a
doctor
to
judge
my
diet
for
me,
and
so
on,
I
need
not
make
any

efforts
at
all.
I
need
not
think,
so
long
as
as
I
can
pay;
others
will
soon
enough
take
the

tiresome job over me.”

2
2

​
Immanuel Kant, ‘An Answer to the question: What is Enlightenment?’ in Perpetual Peace and Other Essays, trans.

T. Humphrey, Indianapolis and Cambridge, Hackett ,Publishing Company, 1983,

2

Hence,
applying
Kant’s
contention
in
the
case
under
consideration,
there
is
no
shadow

of
doubt
that
he
will
be
totally
opposed
to
those
believers
who
blindly
believe
just
for
the

sake
of
merely
believing
without
question
or
reservation.
It
logically
follows
that
to
be

fully
enlightened
and
truly
rational
means
questioning
the
mistakes,
misdemeanor
and

wrongful
acts
of
our
leaders.
It
does
not
matter
whether
they
are
political
(whether
the

administration
or
the
opposition),
social
(whether
private
or
public)
civic
(whether
local

or
international)
or
religious,
always
remain
vigilant
and
critical
of
all
their
actions
and

policies
that
affect
our
people
and
society
at
large.
And
this
is
how
critical
thinking
was

born and accepted as one of the most useful methods of developping the individualism.

Critical
thinking
is
the
ability
to
think
clearly
and
rationally
about
what
to
do
or
what
to

believe.
It
includes
the
ability
to
engage
in
reflective
and
independent
thinking.

Someone
with
critical
thinking
skills
is
able
to
do
the
following:
understand
the
logical

connections
between
ideas,
identify,
construct
and
evaluate
arguments,
detect

inconsistencies
and
common
mistakes
in
reasoning,
solve
problems
systematically,

identify
the
relevance
and
importance
of
ideas,
reflect
on
the
justification
of
one's
own

beliefs and values

Critical
thinking
is
not
a
matter
of
accumulating
information.
A
person
with
a
good

memory
and
who
knows
a
lot
of
facts
is
not
necessarily
good
at
critical
thinking.
A

critical
thinker
is
able
to
deduce
consequences
from
what
he
knows,
and
he
knows
how

to
make
use
of
information
to
solve
problems,
and
to
seek
relevant
sources
of

information to inform himself.

Critical
thinking
should
not
be
confused
with
being
argumentative
or
being
critical
of

other
people.
Although
critical
thinking
skills
can
be
used
in
exposing
fallacies
and
bad

reasoning,
critical
thinking
can
also
play
an
important
role
in
cooperative
reasoning
and

constructive
tasks.
Critical
thinking
can
help
us
acquire
knowledge,
improve
our

theories,
and
strengthen
arguments.
We
can
use
critical
thinking
to
enhance
work

processes and improve social institutions.

Some
people
believe
that
critical
thinking
hinders
creativity
because
it
requires
following

the
rules
of
logic
and
rationality,
but
creativity
might
require
breaking
rules.
This
is
a

misconception.
Critical
thinking
is
quite
compatible
with
thinking
"out-of-the-box",

challenging
consensus
and
pursuing
less
popular
approaches.
If
anything,
critical

thinking
is
an
essential
part
of
creativity
because
we
need
critical
thinking
to
evaluate

and improve our creative ideas.

Individualism
is
a
feature
of
critical
thinking,
as
it
presents
our
own
beliefs
in
an
original

manner.
As
a
definition,
an
​
individual
is
a
person
or
any
specific
object
in
a
collection.
In

the
15th
century
and
earlier,
and
also
today
within
the
fields
of
statistics
and

metaphysics,
individual
means
"indivisible",
typically
describing
any
numerically
singular

thing,
but
sometimes
meaning
"a
person".
From
the
17th
century
on,
individual

indicates
separateness,
as
in
individualism.
​
Individuality
is
the
state
or
quality
of
being

an
individual;
a
person
separate
from
other
persons
and
possessing
his
or
her
own

needs, goals, and desires
​
.

3

Methodological
individualism
is
the
view
that
phenomena
can
only
be
understood
by

examining
how
they
result
from
the
motivations
and
actions
of
individual
agents.In

economics,
people's
behavior
is
explained
in
terms
of
rational
choices,
as
constrained

by
prices
and
incomes.
The
economist
accepts
individuals'
preferences
as
givens.

Becker and Stigler provide a forceful statement of this view:

“On
the
traditional
view,
an
explanation
of
economic
phenomena
that
reaches
a

difference
in
tastes
between
people
or
times
is
the
terminus
of
the
argument:
the

problem
is
abandoned
at
this
point
to
whoever
studies
and
explains
tastes

(psychologists?
anthropologists?
phrenologists?
sociobiologists?).
On
our
preferred

interpretation,
one
never
reaches
this
impasse:
the
economist
continues
to
search
for

differences in prices or incomes to explain any differences or changes in behavior”

3
Socrates
is
correct
in
his
philosophy
and
dictum
that
‘the
unexamined
life
is
not
worth

living’
in
the
same
vein
that
a
life
without
a
discourse
is
no
life
at
all.
One
can
only

engage
into
a
discourse
is
one
if
using
one’s
own
reason.
If
one
is
using
one’s
own

reason,
then
that
individual
is
using
his
or
her
own
reasoning,
if
so,
then
that
person
is

thinking
and
if
he
or
she
is
using
reason
in
his
or
her
thinking,
then
that
kind
of
thinking

is
no
longer
an
ordinary
kind
of
thinking,
but
a
kind
that
is
a
reasonable
one,
indeed,
a

thinking
that
is
already
critical.
Now,
if
the
thinking
is
already
on
that
stage
or
level,
then

that
individual
is
now
ready
for
a
discourse,
not
simply
a
typical
discussion
or
mere

‘normal’ talk.

Hence,in
my
conclusion,
this
cultural
movement,Enlightenment,
was
a
breath
of
fresh

air
from
that
time
restrictions’
established
by
the
society.
It
continued
as
a
root
for
other

movements,
philosophies
or
principles
such
as
critical
thinking,which
encouraged
the

initiative
and
the
unicity
of
oneself.
I
truly
beileve
that
this
stage
of
the
evolution
of

human
race
was
profoundly
needed
and
ended
in
a
beautifully
presented
and
analysed

philosophy that enriched the universal literature and progress.

3

​
George J. Stigler and Gary S. Becker,
​
De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum
​
,The American Economic Review, Vol. 67,

No. 2 (Mar., 1977)

4