Between Autonomy and Conformity: kantian enlightenment and the refusal of tutelage in Camus's “The Stranger”

Abstract

This article investigates the articulation between the Kantian concept of enlightenment (Aufklärung), as expounded in the essay “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” (1784), and the literary representation of the refusal of normative conformity in Albert Camus's The Stranger (1942). It argues that Meursault, the protagonist of Camus's work, embodies a paradoxical form of relationship with enlightenment: by refusing social expectations and performing an authentic existence, he both manifests autonomy and remains imprisoned in a form of immaturity that prevents him from publicly exercising his reason. The analysis demonstrates that the Kantian distinction between private and public use of reason provides a fundamental interpretative key to understanding not only Meursault's tragic fate, but also contemporary phenomena of silent resistance to institutional normativity, particularly in the context of labor relations. By highlighting the limits of purely individual autonomy, this study contributes to the philosophical understanding of contemporary practices that delineate boundaries between mandatory conformity and voluntary engagement, offering theoretical support for investigations into changes in the relationships between subjects and institutions in contemporary times.