Idea
This claim says that the horror of enslavement did not disappear simply because the reason of the Enlightenment prevailed. The meaning is that intellectual or philosophical progress alone is not enough to put an end to forms of oppression, because modern history itself continued to produce enslavement in different forms. The text therefore rejects the idea that the Enlightenment is a final solution to all evils, and reminds us that violence can continue to survive within the age of reason.
Concise Formulation
The horror of enslavement: it did not end with the triumph of the reason of the Enlightenment
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This statement occupies an important critical place in the argument because it blocks the optimistic narrative that sees in the Enlightenment the automatic end of oppression. The author, according to this claim, links reason and emancipation on the one hand, and the persistence of brutal practices on the other. In this way, the history of modernity itself becomes a subject of questioning, not merely a story of the triumph of reason.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim is that it moves the reader away from a naïve conception of progress. It reveals that Arkoun looks at modernity with a critical, not celebratory, eye, and that he refuses to grant it complete innocence. This statement therefore helps us understand that his project is not based on glorifying the Enlightenment, but on questioning the limits of its influence in reality.
Brief Evidence
This evidence passage confirms that the horror of enslavement did not die with the triumph of the reason of the Enlightenment. Intellectual or philosophical progress alone is not enough to end forms of oppression, because modern history continued to produce enslavement in different ways. The text therefore rejects the idea that the Enlightenment is a final solution to all evils.
Reading Questions
- How does this statement change the common image of the Enlightenment as the end of slavery?
- Does the text criticize the reason of the Enlightenment itself, or does it criticize the illusion that it is sufficient in itself?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.