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The Culture of Criticism: What Do We Owe the Enlightenment?
Vincenzo Ferrone, as presented in Jacob Soll’s review “The Culture of Criticism: What Do We Owe the Enlightenment?”, treats the Enlightenment not primarily as a fixed set of doctrines but as a tradition of critical thought—an ongoing public practice of subjecting all ideas to free and open examination. For Ferrone, the heart of the Enlightenment is the “age of criticism” that Voltaire named and Immanuel Kant celebrated: the social project of using reason publicly to challenge authority and to create a space for debate that underpins human rights, tolerance, and liberty. Soll explains that Ferrone defends the Enlightenment by emphasizing its cultural and political role in fostering criticism and public discourse rather than by arguing for unqualified faith in scientific progress or secularism (Soll).
Kant and Voltaire, according to Soll’s summary, articulated complementary visions of the Enlightenment. Voltaire popularized the idea of lumières—the “men of letters” who would use rational inquiry to replace superstition and clerical authority. His writings urged humanity to embrace reason, justice, and freedom of thought. Kant, in his famous essay “What Is Enlightenment?”, defined it as “man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity” and emphasized the moral and civic duty to make “public use of one’s reason on every point.” Together, Voltaire furnished the social image of the critic, while Kant provided the moral foundation: that public reason is both a freedom and a responsibility (Soll).
The nineteenth- and twentieth-century critics of the Enlightenment, as described by Soll, raised important challenges. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel criticized the Enlightenment’s overconfidence in human reason and progress, arguing that this optimism could lead to the hubris and violence seen in the French Revolution. Friedrich Nietzsche rejected Enlightenment morality as naïve, suggesting that by removing transcendent meaning, modern rationalism risked producing nihilism. In the twentieth century, thinkers such as Michel Foucault and the Frankfurt School argued that Enlightenment reason could become a tool of domination. Foucault, for example, demonstrated how institutions like prisons and hospitals, which claimed to be rational and humane, often served as mechanisms of social control (Soll).
I agree with aspects of Hegel, Nietzsche, and Foucault’s critiques, but I see them as refinements rather than rejections of Enlightenment ideals. Hegel’s warning against assuming inevitable progress is wise; blind faith in reason can justify oppression when history resists our ideals. Nietzsche’s insight into the moral vacuum of secular modernity is equally valid, showing that reason alone cannot provide purpose. Foucault’s analyses of power remind us that reason must remain self-critical and aware of how knowledge can reinforce control. Rather than undermining the Enlightenment, these critiques strengthen it by keeping it self-aware and responsive to its own limitations.
Former Pope Benedict XVI, as Soll notes, offered a distinctive perspective. While he lamented the Enlightenment’s secularization and the marginalization of religious belief, he also acknowledged that Enlightenment principles—such as freedom of conscience and human rights—helped protect the dignity of faith and moral reasoning in public life. I agree with Benedict’s nuanced stance: Enlightenment reason should not erase faith but instead create civic space where diverse beliefs can coexist. However, I disagree with viewing Enlightenment secularism as an enemy of religion; rather, it is a framework that allows pluralism to thrive without coercion.
Soll’s central thesis is that Ferrone redefines the Enlightenment as a living tradition of criticism, whose enduring contribution is the culture of free debate and the language of human rights. Soll warns that while Enlightenment values underpin modern life, the spirit of criticism that gave rise to them is fading. I agree with this thesis. Reframing the Enlightenment as a practice of criticism makes it more resilient and inclusive. Yet, as Soll implies, criticism alone is not enough—it must be grounded in institutions, education, and shared civic responsibility to prevent relativism and fragmentation.
In conclusion, Ferrone’s vision of the Enlightenment—as an ongoing commitment to reasoned criticism and human dignity—remains vital today. The nineteenth- and twentieth-century critiques remind us that reason must remain humble and self-aware. The most faithful defense of the Enlightenment, therefore, is not blind celebration but continual renewal of its core principle: the courage to think freely and publicly.
Works Cited
Soll, Jacob. “The Culture of Criticism: What Do We Owe the Enlightenment?” The New Republic, 20 Apr. 2015, https://newrepublic.com/article/121837/what-do-we-owe-enlightenment.