Immanuel Kant says enlightenment: "it's a man's release from his self-incurred tutelage." I believe the author was looking at our time and saying the we have a lack of knowledge and free will.  A big part of this for me is that people should be able to  make there own decisions and know why they did. The author said that when people are able to achieve enlightenment they are basically free and that freedom plays a huge part in enlightenment.