Is it too early or late to judge the enlightenment?

[xpastor]

The philosopher Adorno once wrote a book on this very topic (Dialectic of Enlightenment), and while I didn't agree with his take (at least not entirely), I do think it was an interesting investigation. For somone like Immanuel Kant, the Enlightenment was the means by which man could break free from the shackles of mystery-inducing authority by means of illuminating the world with the light of reason in a way that all can come to understand.

What Adorno wants to do is question that narrative and delve into the history of it, and how (among other things) this apparent beacon of light to the world led to the continually increasing acts of violence, especially those in his lifetime like the Holocause and World War II. In addition, he wants to gauge whether or not what was promised to us throughout the Enlightenment and by essentially all its main contributors was just a delusion, given the nightmares it allowed and - at times - promulgated.

If you want an interesting look into this, I'd recommend checking out Adorno's book "Dialectic of Enlightenment".

I am not familiar with Adorno's book, but the thesis sounds as if it is diametrically opposed to one by Stephen Pinker, The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined. I don't much like the title but these are purely metaphorical angels. Pinker does make a good case for believing that the Enlightenment has brought improvement to the world.