The Way To Freedom

In the 18th century,the Enlightenment held high the banner of reason,fiercely criticized Christianity and feudal autocracy.The ideas of liberty,egality and fraternity advocated by the Enlightenment constituted the direct source of modern thought.As one of the most influential philosopher in the late period of 18th century,Kant's enlightenment thought systematically illustrates the spirit of Enlightenment.The definition of enlighhtenment is defined by Kant as "having courage to use one's own reason.In his article "Beantwortung der Frage:Was ist Aufklarung?",he explains this definition from two aspects:the public use of reason and the private use of reason,and the relationship between enlightenment and religion.Kant's definition of enlightenment expresses his ultimate pursuit of freedom,which is manifested in his subsequent series of works on the division of the overall process of human history,that is,the state of nature-the state of citizenship-the state of ethics.It is a process of constant progress of human morality and continuous improvement of humanity,and also it is a progressive process from nature to freedom.On specific issues,Kant holds view that human beings must enter the civil society by universal legislation,and with the spirit of republicanism establishing a cosmopolitan citizenship regime on the surface of earth,which constitutes the external requirement of freedom.But Kant believes that the self-sufficiency of the external civil society can not be solved within itself.So to fulfill freedom completely,human beings need to find the unconditional basis of morality among themselves.Thus the external political community must to go further to reach to a level of a ethical community.Further moreKant points out that this ethical community is the external manifestation of morality.which has a religious attribute of moral character.And the morality constitutes the internal guarantee of freedom.On how to implement enlightenment,in a view of anthropology,Kant pointed out that education is closely related to human self-improvement,and only through education can human beings achieve the goal of continuously be enlighted.Therefore,on the whole,Kant's enlightenment view should include thr-ee aspects:external political enlightenment,int-ernal religious enlightenment,and educational enlightenment through which the cause of enlightenment can be realized.