Imagery of machines
Imagery of the machine appears multiple times in the essay. It first appears when Kant introduces the private use of reason:
“This creates an artificial unanimity which will serve the fulfillment of public objectives, or at least keep these objectives from being destroyed. Here arguing is not permitted: one must obey. Insofar as a part of this machine considers himself at the same time a member of a universal community—a world society of citizens—(let us say that he thinks of himself as a scholar rationally addressing his public through his writings) he may indeed argue, and the affairs with which he is associated in part as a passive member will not suffer.”
As Robert S. Taylor points out, for Kant, a society striving towards a collective and public goal is like a mechanistic process. When a person is a part of this organization, and is given a specific role, they are like a gear in a machine, playing their part to keep it functioning. However, at the end of the essay, Kant compares mankind and machines for different reasons. He says:
“At last free thought acts even on the fundamentals of government and the state finds it agreeable to treat man, who is now more than a machine, in accord with his dignity.”
Here, we see that when a man achieves enlightenment, he is no longer a mere machine, a gear in the societal organization. This suggests that an enlightened person is capable of more than just fitting into, or being subject to, traditional social roles that primarily serve public ends. Now that they can think independently, they can use their reason in a way that goes beyond simply mechanically following orders. This makes the enlightened individual a potential participant in public conversations, as well as part of a society that values critical opinions and self-governance.
