The French Revolution provided the Enlightenment project not only with a political and social, but also with an intellectual goal. The task was to utilize the liberating potential of human reason and thus to leave behind ‘self-incurred immaturity’. It soon became clear, however, that this was not only easier thought than done, but that it also did not apply to all people in equal measure. While the postulate of equality had certainly been framed in general terms, it nevertheless, in practice, excluded women, the working class, and non-Westerners. Similarly, in many cases, reason itself – lacking faith in its powers as well as affective support – turned out to be a rather feeble category. In view of man’s being an affective creature, Kant approved enthusiasm, even though enthusiasm, as an affect, could, from the point of view of moral philosophy, not compete with reason. The mass enthusiasm for the French Revolution nevertheless seemed to lend cogency to the proposition of the moral disposition of mankind. As a ‘historical sign’, enthusiasm indicates the tendency toward a moral humanity. As Kant puts it in The Conflict of the Faculties (1798): “the passionate participation in the good, i.e., enthusiasm (although not to be wholly esteemed, since passion as such deserves censure), provide through this history the occasion for the following remark which is important for anthropology: genuine enthusiasm always moves only toward what is ideal … , and it cannot be grafted onto self-interest.”