Immanuel Kant's 'Dare To Know !'

187 Words1 Pages
“Dare to know!” Such words, written by Immanuel Kant, embodied a wave of thinking that challenged tradition with individualism and reason. This wave, the Enlightenment, occurred during the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. Enlightenment thinkers often discussed the innate goodness of human nature, tolerance, equality, and freedom. Kant focused on freedom and the necessity of thinking for oneself. Others, such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, examined society with respect to the state of nature and covenants, respectively. Voltaire highlighted the importance of tolerance and civil liberties. Soon after, the Industrial Revolution challenged the lofty aims of the Enlightenment, predominately in Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution,