Men Quotes by Immanuel Kant

With men, the state of nature is not a state of peace, but war.

— Immanuel Kant

Two things strike me dumb: the infinite starry heavens, and the sense of right and wrong in man.

— Immanuel Kant

If a man is often the subject of conversation he soon becomes the subject of criticism.

— Immanuel Kant

The wise man can change his mind; the stubborn one, never.

— Immanuel Kant

Freedom is the alone unoriginated birthright of man, and belongs to him by force of his humanity.

— Immanuel Kant

Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-incurred immaturity.

— Immanuel Kant

Man must be disciplined, for he is by nature raw and wild.

— Immanuel Kant

Animals... are there merely as a means to an end. That end is man.

— Immanuel Kant

In man (as the only rational creature on earth) those natural capacities which are directed to the use of his reason are…

— Immanuel Kant

He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man…

— Immanuel Kant

Man desired concord; but nature knows better what is good for his species; she desires discord. Man wants to live easy and…

— Immanuel Kant

Man's greatest concern is to know how he shall properly fill his place in the universe and correctly understand what he must…

— Immanuel Kant

[A ruler is merely] the trustee of the rights of other men and he must always stand in dread of having in…

— Immanuel Kant

Man's duty is to improve himself; to cultivate his mind; and, when he finds himself going astray, to bring the moral law…

— Immanuel Kant

The desire of a man for a woman is not directed at her because she is a human being, but because she…

— Immanuel Kant

Every man is to be respected as an absolute end in himself; and it is a crime against the dignity that belongs…

— Immanuel Kant

There will always be some people who think for themselves, even among the self-appointed guardians of the great mass who, after having…

— Immanuel Kant

Laziness and cowardice explain why so many men. . . remain under a life-long tutelage and why it is so easy for…

— Immanuel Kant

Men will not understand … that when they fulfil their duties to men, they fulfil thereby God's commandments; that they are consequently…

— Immanuel Kant

Freedom is independence of the compulsory will of another, and in so far as it tends to exist with the freedom of…

— Immanuel Kant

In the natural state no concept of God can arise, and the false one which one makes for himself is harmful. Hence…

— Immanuel Kant

By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man. A man who himself does…

— Immanuel Kant

A man who has tasted with profound enjoyment the pleasure of agreeable society will eat with a greater appetite than he who…

— Immanuel Kant

Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another. Such immaturity…

— Immanuel Kant

Even the song of birds, which we can bring under no musical rule, seems to have more freedom, and therefore more for…

— Immanuel Kant

This can never become popular, and, indeed, has no occasion to be so; for fine-spun arguments in favour of useful truths make…

— Immanuel Kant

One cannot avoid a certain feeling of disgust, when one observes the actions of man displayed on the great stage of the…

— Immanuel Kant

This spirit of freedom is expanding even where it must struggle against the external obstacles of governments that misunderstand their own function.…

— Immanuel Kant

Man relates to material things through direct insight rather than reason.

— Immanuel Kant

Riches ennoble a man's circumstances, but not himself.

— Immanuel Kant

A lie is the abandonment and, as it were, the annihilation of the dignity by man.

— Immanuel Kant

Give a man everything he wants and at that moment everything is not everything

— Immanuel Kant

The ultimate destiny of the human race is the greatest moral perfection, provided that it is achieved through human freedom, whereby alone…

— Immanuel Kant

The means employed by Nature to bring about the development of all the capacities of men is their antagonism in society, so…

— Immanuel Kant

Most men use their knowledge only under guidance from others because they lack the courage to think independently using their own reasoning…

— Immanuel Kant

It is by his activities and not by enjoyment that man feels he is alive. In idleness we not only feel that…

— Immanuel Kant

Apart from moral conduct, all that man thinks himself able to do in order to become acceptable to God is mere superstition…

— Immanuel Kant

Without man and his potential for moral progress, the whole of reality would be a mere wilderness, a thing in vain, and…

— Immanuel Kant

We find that the more a cultivated reason devotes itself to the aim of enjoying life and happiness, the further does man…

— Immanuel Kant

Enlightenment is the liberation of man from his self-caused state of minority... Supere aude! Dare to use your own understanding!is thus the…

— Immanuel Kant