Obscure representations in Kant’s anthropology: Self cultivation and civilization

Abstract

This article intends to present the ‘obscure representations’ as part of the available path to conceive the cultivation of the self and civilization, according to the perspective of a pragmatic anthropology as conceived by Kant. The obscure representations shower the existence of a field of intellectual, aesthetic and moral representations hidden to the conscience. These representations, on the one hand, have the purpose of providing a cultivation of the self, a kind of knowledge of human nature through the empirical functionality of its use in the production of certain phenomena and on the other hand, to provide adequate conditions for the construction of civilization through the ‘art of hiding’ the true intentions of behavior in society. In both cases, the study of these representations contributes to the understanding of the interior of the human being, providing an adequate way for its pragmatic-prudent use in the world, which justifies the privileged prevalence of the theme in anthropology writings