Kant and the Modernity of the Absent Public
Name
thld_a_00095.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
230.32 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f0c29e815d0b39885bd45bef3466c923
Author(s)
Jarzombek, Mark
Date Issued
January 2013
Journal
Thresholds
Publisher
MIT Press - Journals
Citation
Jarzombek, Mark. "Kant and the Modernity of the Absent Public." Thresholds 41, Spring 2013 (January 2013): 74-81 © The Author
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In his famous passages in Critique of Judgment, Immanuel Kant, the so-called father
of modern liberalism, outlines the three maxims of how a society moves toward
Enlightenment: one, think for oneself; two, think in the mindset of others; and three,
think consistently. The longer one considers these propositions, the stranger they
sound. For example, if we take maxim two seriously, we could become so busy
connecting with others—and, of course, they with us—that there is little room for
that special someone, who presumably would get most of our empathetic energy.
Friends, lovers, spouses and even relatives have no particular place in Kant’s world.
Hegel stated it perhaps all too bluntly; marriage for Kant “is degraded to a bargain
for mutual use.”
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1162/thld_a_00095
