That which necessarily interests everyone? Writing philosophy in the “age of Enlightenment”

Abstract

In this paper, I aim to investigate the nuanced role that writing, i.e. the act of articulating and conveying arguments and concepts through textual communication, plays within Kant’s philosophy, particularly in shaping the concept of philosophy and elaborating ways to participate in it. Central to my argument is the assertion that the issue of writing stands as a linchpin for comprehending the exceptionalism inherent in philosophy: the way in which inquiry in philosophy is somehow epistemologically different from inquiry in other disciplines. I show how such a specificity is inextricably intertwined with the ways philosophy is (not) learned. By scrutinizing Kant’s project to substantiate philosophy’s capacity to foster freedom, I contend that a comprehensive exploration of the role of writing is imperative. Through this lens, the interplay between dichotomous concepts – private/public, scholastic/cosmic, and Bildung/science – emerges as pivotal in elucidating philosophy’s exceptionalism and showing how it is linked to the broader Enlightenment-era inquiry concerning participation in critical, emancipatory endeavours.