Quote of the Week
Was ist Aufklärung?
Aufklärung ist der Ausweg des Menschen aus seiner selbstverschuldeten Unmündigkeit. Sapere aude! Habe Mut, Dich Deines eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen! ist also der Wahlspruch der Aufklärung. (Kant, 1784)
die Aufklärung enlightenment
der Ausweg way out, escape
der Mut courage
die Unmündigkeit age before majority, lack of coming of age, immaturity
mündig (adj) mature, responsible of age
der Verstand reason, mind, intellect
der Wahlspruch motto, watchword
bedienen serve, attend to
Sapere aude (Latin) dare to be wise!
selbstverschulden to be one’s own fault (ptc. as adj. “one’s own fault, self-imposed”)
also therefore
aus out of, from
eigen one’s own
Enlightenment is man’s escape from his self-imposed immaturity. Dare to be wise! Have courage, you (acc.) your (gen.?) own mind to serve! is also the motto of enlightenment.
I don’t quite get that middle construction. Have courage to server yourself, your own mind. A double accusative? Why the -es on deines if it’s accusative?
Maybe I didn’t go far enough in the dictionary: the last definition gives a reflexive use with the genitive as “Make use of . . .” so maybe the translation should be “Have courage to use your own reason.” See page on Reflexive Verbs.
Maybe a native speaker out there can confirm this? I sometimes wonder, when I’m trying to work out a Greek problem like this, whether a native speaker (If I could also travel back in time) would laugh at my attempts and explanations.
Ah, right! Give all my French, how could I forget about reflexive verbs?
Thanks for the reminder.
The translation of this passage as given in Kant, “Political Writings” (ISBN 0521398371) from Cambridge University Press is quite good:
“Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own 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 motto of enlightenment is therefore: Sapere aude!”
This follows a somewhat longer version of the original quotation than was given above:
“Aufklärung ist der Ausgang des Menschen aus seiner selbstverschuldeten Unmündigkeit. Unmündigkeit ist das Unvermögen, sich seines Verstandes ohne Leitung eines anderen zu bedienen. Selbstverschuldet ist diese Unmündigkeit, wenn die Ursache derselben nicht am Mangel des Verstandes, sondern der Entschließung und des Mutes liegt, sich seiner ohne Leitung eines andern zu bedienen. Sapere aude ! Habe Mut, dich deines eigenen Verstandes zu bedienen ! ist also der Wahlspruch der Aufklärung.”
http://www.prometheusonline.de/heureka/philosophie/klassiker/kant/aufklaerung.htm
@Mark: “Have courage to use your own reason.” That’s correct. He should have added: And stop citing authorities
[...] prior posts from Kant here and [...]