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Kings becoming philosophers is not to be desired, because power corrupts free reason
Drawn from what Immanuel Kant said
What Immanuel Kant actually said
- Immanuel Kant German philosopher (1724 to 1804), born in Königsberg
That kings should philosophise, or philosophers become kings, is not to be expected. But neither is it to be desired; for the possession of power is inevitably fatal to the free exercise of reason.
Where this was said
↗Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Essay (1795; M. Campbell Smith translation)gutenberg.org
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