Analysis Of Foucault's Definition Of Enlightenment

This reading shows Foucault’s critical viewpoint on Immanuel Kant’s perception of Enlightenment and briefly mentions Foucault’s own ideas about Enlightenment. The main theme of the reading, “What is Enlightenment?” is a question that had been discussed in the field of philosophy for centuries and thus the author himself answers this question from a philosophical viewpoint. The author begins the writing by explaining three different ways used by philosophers to represent the present and states that neither of those interpretations is appropriate for Kant’s definition of Enlightenment. Foucault illustrates that Kant defined Enlightenment as a way out from the status of immaturity and sticks to this definition throughout the rest of the reading.