Analyze western conception of an enlightenment individual - Essay Example

Societies all over the world have different notions and approaches towards achieving enlightenment, and it all depends on what a particular holds in high regard amongst religious, political and social enlightenment. Western conceptions about enlightenment are rooted in the Age of enlightenment, which refers to philosophical developments associated to scientific rationality of the 17th and 18th centuries. This paper seeks to discuss Western conceptions about an enlightened individual by highlighting on Marinetti, F. T.’s poem titled Futurist Manifesto.

The Futurist Manifesto was an Italian poem by F, T. Marinetti that was published in the Italian press on 5th February in 1909 (Apollonio 31). It went to be printed in French newspapers as a translation of the original, an indicator of the content’s popularity and ability to appeal to a large audience. This poem heralded the beginning of artistic philosophy in which futurism was promoted and the past rejected (Apollonio 186). Futurism in the poem celebrated the industrial revolution and the advances in technology that was changing the socioeconomic landscape well into the future.

The poem also celebrated speed, violence, machinery and industry with all the benefits it brought to Italy as was manifested by modernization and cultural rejuvenation (Apollonio 58). Enlightenment in the context of this poem meant embracing the modernism and using the new values associated with new aspects of life in the age of innovation and discovery. This required people to shun the old ways that he regarded with disdain and depicted them as sickly (Apollonio 89). According to Marinetti1 (np), an enlightened individual was supposed to bear the signs of modernity which were manifested in the use of modern technology like the car.

The car is used as a symbol of speed, which the author emphasizes as hallmark of this new age. An enlightened individual was supposed to be in touch with technology. Futurists’ believe in the significance and importance of power in influencing their lives. The author of the poem compares and contrasts the new versus the old ways. The author’s celebration is based on what he terms as the defeat of the old ways that he regards as the source of the untold suffering that people went through before the advent of the new ways.

According to western conceptions, an enlightened individual is supposed to be educated and well versed with the ways of technology and appreciates the value of industry. The western world believes that their education and perceptions about enlightenment are perfect and should be embraced without question. According to Marinetti, the futurist movement is as a result of near death experience that enlightened him thus, his development of the futurist manifesto (Apollonio 163). His death experience was inspired by industrial energy and the speed of an automobile, which forms a key part of his personal enlightenment.

The author of the futurist manifesto favor for the new is illustrated by his condemnation of museums and all academies that studied old works, which he compared to cemeteries (Apollonio 58). Marinetti instead encouraged thrill seeking and promoted the need to pursue beauty and personal gratification above all other human attributes. This leads to the individualistic theme that permeates the poem upon closer evaluation, which works to illustrate the lingering notions of this poem in today’