In his 1784 contribution to a \;Berlinische \;Monatsschrift \;essay\n contest on the topic &ldquo\;What is Enlightenment?\,&rdquo\; Immanuel Kant famously \nanswered the question by arguing that the Enlightenment is\, as Michel \nFoucault has later put it\, a certain &ldquo\;attitude&rdquo\; expressed by the \; \;slogan\n &ldquo\;Have the audacity to know!&rdquo\; This paper attempts to ask Leibniz the \nquestion that Kant replied to in 1784. If\, according to Kant\, the \nenlightened philosopher is characterized by audacity and courage to \nthink for himself\, what is he characterized by according to Leibniz? \nWhat stand did Leibniz take in relation to the kind of philosophical \naudacity later recommended by Kant? And what kind of intellectual \nattitude characterizes the enlightened mind for Leibniz himself? In this\n interrogation\, Leibniz&rsquo\;s relations to Spinoza\, this &ldquo\;most audacious \ninnovator\,&rdquo\; plays a crucial role and provides important information \nabout the philosophical heritage that a Leibnizian analysis of the Early\n Enlightenment will reveal that Kant implicitly took up with his slogan.\n This analysis also provides an important key to understanding the \n&ldquo\;moderate&rdquo\; alternative that Leibniz defends against the &ldquo\;audacious&rdquo\; \n(rather than &ldquo\;radical&rdquo\;!) intellectual attitude shared by Kant and \nSpinoza.
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