The Circle and Enlightenment

This idea is in part inspired by one of my group members, Erin, who talked about Kant's idea of "nonage.".  Kant said, "Nonage is the inability to use one's own understanding without another's guidance. This nonage is self-imposed if its cause lies not in lack of understanding but in indecision and lack of courage to use one's own mind without another's guidance. Dare to know! (Sapere aude.) 'Have the courage to use your own understanding,' is therefore the motto of the enlightenment."  Kant argues that what holds us back is "self-imposed nonage," because we are afraid to act on our own and make decisions for ourselves.  In The Circle, the Circlers are stripped of their free will without even realizing it-- by making everything visible, Mae cannot make decisions without wondering how her followers and those watching will interpret them.  She interprets this in a seemingly backwards sense, however, stating, while discussing how her diet changed since becoming transparent, "Anything immoderate would provoke a flurry of zings of concern, so she stayed within the bounds of moderation.  And she found it freeing.  She was liberated from bad behavior" (Eggers 331).  Mae feels freed from making bad decisions, when in reality she is less free.  She is too concerned about what those watching her will think to do what she truly wants, such as eating junk food or drinking soda.  She worries about the "flurry of zings," indicating her constant need for approval.  Furthermore, when Mae says something she believes to be noteworthy, she feels disappointed when it doesn't catch on, therefore tying her happiness and self-esteem to what people she doesn't know think of her.  While Mae still makes decisions for herself, she is incredibly influenced by her viewers, therefore falling victim to self-imposed nonage.

In both The Circle and What is Enlightment? the difference between man and machine is established.  Kant states, "At last free thought acts even on the fundamentals of government and the state finds it agreeable to treat man, who is now more than a machine, in accord with his dignity."  Here, Kant argues that through enlightenment and thinking for yourself, you become more than a machine, as you are making decisions for yourself rather than simply doing what you're told.  If everyone does what they're told and doesn't question anything, we really are not much more than machines.  In The Circle, the idea that the workers at the Circle are humans is continually reinforced.  For instance, one of the company's slogans, which is written in various places around campus, is "Humans work here" (Eggers 47), and Dan makes it clear that "[they] want to make sure that you can be a human being here, too...it should also be a humanplace" (47).  From the beginning, Dan is reminding Mae that she is not a robot.  Dan and Bailey stress the human side to their work, indicating that they care about much more than their work, which is in a sense true, but their social media almost becomes a part of their job. If Mae does anything out of the norm, she is questioned and convinced she should be acting differently.  The way Mae is approached by her superiors gives the illusion that her decisions are her own, when in fact they are for the most part, at least initially, completely crafted by the company.  Mae almost seems to be brainwashed; she is under the impression that she is thinking for herself, when in fact she has become just another Circle machine.