Kantian Courage:Advancing the Enlightenment in Contemporary Political Theory: Advancing the Enlightenment in Contemporary Political Theory

1. Kantian Courage

This chapter interprets Kant's conception of courage and its implications for contemporary political thinking. The chapter begins by examining Kant's reflections on courage in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, the 1784 essay on Enlightenment, and the Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. The chapter then considers how contemporary political theorists inflect Kantian courage as apology, jurisprudence, and critique. Finally, the chapter argues that the Enlightenment ethos ought to combine the activities of defence, legislation, and transgression.