Kant on wonder as the motive to learn

Abstract

Kant writes, 'to have trained one's children is not enough . . . what really matters is that they learn to think' . By 'thinking' , Kant means thinking for oneself. But how can one learn to think for oneself? I focus on how we can be motivated to think for ourselves and argue that for Kant it is through the feeling of wonder. I make my case by drawing an analogy between Kant's discussion of wonder and his discussion of respect. For Kant, we can learn to feel wonder and be motivated to think for ourselves by being presented with seemingly organised objects that give us the occasion to feel wonder. Moreover, for Kant, sometimes the same object that provides the occasion for wonder is also what produces the feeling of respect, namely the pure activity of reason. In this way, wonder helps us to learn how to be virtuous.

Enlightenment as perfection, perfection as enlightenment? Kant on thinking for oneself and perfecting oneself

“…On ‘popular enlightenment’ ( Volksaufklärung ) concerning citizen's political rights and duties, see, e.g., Kant (1996h, 7:89). For the feeling of wonder as a core motive to think for oneself, see Zinkin (2021).…”