‘An intrinsic dignity is held to attach to war in itself, and even philosophers eulogise it as an ennobling, refining influence on humanity, unmindful of the Greek proverb, “War is evil, in so far as it makes more bad people than it takes away.”’
Perpetual peace between all nations seems like an impossible dream. But not for Kant. He believed that the world can achieve everlasting peace by following his prescribed doctrines and that all reasonable minds should do so for the benefit of humankind. Kant’s ambitious essay is influential to this day and is a precursor to the modern democratic peace theory.
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher who remains to this day a central figure in philosophy. His systematic work in epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics was greatly influential to all subsequent philosophical developments.