Kant’s description of Enlightenment as ‘man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity’ is a somewhat pertinent definition, solidifying the quintessential ideas of Enlightenment to a certain degree in a brief sentence.
It is important, if one is to obtain the meaning behind this definition to study the rest of the article. Primarily, self-incurred immaturity is the ignorance which man has acquired for himself, this is often as a result of laziness, and unwillingness to try to aspire to anything beyond what is considered to be a standard format of knowledge.
Kant also outlines the fact that man’s self-incurred immaturity is partially as a result of his reluctance to independence.