Immanuel Kant, Doctrine of Virtue as translated by Mary J. Gregor (1964), p. 93.

By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man. A man who himself does not believe what he tells another […] has even less worth than if he were a mere thing […] makes himself a mere deceptive appearance of man, not man himself.

— Immanuel Kant on Lying

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "By a lie a man throws away and, as it were, annihilates his dignity as a man. A man who himself does not believe what he tells another […] has even less worth than if he were a mere thing […] makes himself a mere deceptive appearance of man, not man himself." in the context of "Immanuel Kant, Doctrine of Virtue as translated by Mary J. Gregor (1964), p. 93." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Lying" (K) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Immanuel Kant

About Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant (22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804), born Emanuel Kant, was a German philosopher.