Immanuel Kant (April 22, 1724 – February 12, 1804) was a Prussian Enlightenment philosopher, as well as one of the key figures in the modern genre of philosophy. One of Kant's ideas was the concept of perpetual peace, and that it was an unnatural state for humanity and thus required that humans make it for themselves, even advocating the complete elimination of standing armies. This ideal was transcribed in a philosophical treatise called Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, or Perpetual Peace, as it was called in 1795.
In 1974, when first contacting Snake, aka, Big Boss via a radio since her and Professor Galvez's hiring of the Militaires Sans Frontières to drive out the CIA-backed mercenary group Peace Sentinel, Paz Ortega Andrade briefly quoted Immanuel Kant by claiming that she learned in school that peace is an unnatural state for mankind, and that they ought to make it for themselves to preserve relationships with people, although Big Boss admitted he never understood what it's like.[1] Snake later asked her about what she was talking about, with her then explaining who Immanuel Kant was and his treatise where he made this claim. Although Big Boss still believed that one has to work for peace even if it meant making sacrifices by entering conflict, he still supported her ideals.[2]
Behind the scenes
Immanuel Kant is an incidental character in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and its theme of peace via nuclear disarmament as well as total disarmament of standing armies, with his being quoted twice: the first time in the beginning of the game upon starting a new game,[3] and the second time in the ending of the fourth chapter.[4] Both instances were direct quotations from his book Perpetual Peace, specifically the second and first chapters, respectively. Aside from this, Paz also alludes to him twice, the first time during the briefing for the mission "find the Sandinista Comandante",[1] and the second time in the relevant briefing file.[2]
Appearances
- Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (mentioned only)
Notes and references
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Immanuel Kant. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Metal Gear Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |
- ^ a b Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010)
Kazuhira Miller: Snake, I rigged that radio so you can contact our young lady friend Paz. // Snake (Big Boss): Is she OK? // Miller: No need to worry. She's tougher than you think... // Snake: Still just a kid. // Miller: Which is exactly why she could be an effective source of information. Besides, that little angel de la paz is the one who gave us this mission, right? // Snake: ...I guess. // Miller: I'll put her on. // Paz Ortega Andrade: Snake... // Snake: Paz. Where are you? // Paz: Ciudad Colón. A school. The teacher told me to stay here until things quiet down. // Snake: Teacher? Oh, him. He's... Yeah, that's probably good advice. // Paz: Si. He has a radio in his room, so we can talk anytime. // Snake: ...Pretty fancy for a teacher. // Paz: Promise me, Snake, that you'll bring back peace. And... // Snake: I know. I'll contact you if I find your friend. // Paz: Thank you. Snake, if you need to know about Costa Rica - the geography, the climate, the wildlife, anything - just ask me. I know about its history and laws, too. We learned it all in school. // Snake: Got it. I have a question, I'll ask. // Paz: ...I, uh... // Snake: What? // Paz: In school I also learned that peace is an unnatural state for human society. And that war is a constant threat to our relationship with others. // Snake: That's right. // Paz: So, to achieve peace, we have to create it ourselves. Crying about it won't bring it about, or make it last. Each one of us must go and seek it out. // Snake: You won't find it without making sacrifices. No offense, but I don't know what peace is. Never felt what it's like. Never even been interested in it. Paz: Snake...? // Snake: Ah, sorry. Listen Paz, I think your ideas are... admirable, and I hope they turn out to be right. // Paz: Yeah, me too. // Snake: Peace is in your name. Who better to help bring it back? // Paz: Thanks, Snake. I will be here whenever you need me. See you later. Miller: Snake, use your radio to call people. But stay alert. You're in the middle of a mission, and you can't afford to let your guard down. // Snake: Got it. // Miller: Need to know more about Costa Rica? Paz can help you out. Snake: Good to know. // Miller: We'll follow their transport route. That should take us straight to their main base. // Snake: From what I've seen, it looks like nukes. // Miller: Agreed. The key thing now is to confirm whether those "spears" really are what we think they are, and if so, why they're here. Snake: Follow the transport route, find the nukes. // Miller: That's what I'm thinking. First we should make contact with the Sandinista comandante. They can tell us more about what's up ahead. But it looks like their hideout's already come under attack. // Snake: We'd better hope they're still alive. Miller: Snake, infiltrate that cabin and secure the Sandinistas' comandante. Neutralize any guards by knocking them out, putting them to sleep, or even using the Fulton recovery system. You choose how to handle it, Boss. - ^ a b Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010)
Briefing Files > Briefing Library > Paz > Costa Rica's Unarmed Neutrality
Naked Snake (Big Boss): What was that you were saying... "peace is not the natural state of men"? You said you learned it in school. // Paz Ortega Andrade: That's right. They're the words of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. In 1795 he wrote a book titled "Perpetual Peace." Kant argued that it's precisely because peace is unnatural that we have to make it ourselves. // Snake: How? // Paz: That's what his book is about. Is the concept starting to sound interesting now? // Snake: Not really... I belong in a more natural world. Paz: Is that so... ...My grandparents died in the civil war. If only we'd been at peace, they wouldn't have lost their lives. You actually wish for war? // Snake: It's not like I want to hurt innocent civilians. But if someone attacks you, what are you supposed to do? A country needs the strength to defend itself. Otherwise it faces invasion, oppression, political subjugation. // Paz: If they'd simply stop using force to tangle with each other, countries wouldn't need force to defend themselves. // Snake: And how would you guarantee that? // Paz: I... // Snake: ...Sorry. But you have to understand how the world works in order to protect the ones you love. That's not to say ideals aren't important, too. They are. // Paz: You are right, Snake... Thanks. Peace! - ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
Prologue: An Army Without Borders- "Peace Amongst men living alongside one another is not a natural state. On the contrary, the natural state of man is that of war. War manifested not only by open hostilities, but also by the constant threat of hostility. Peace, therefore, is a state that must be established by law."
- ―Immanuel Kant, "Perpetual Peace" Chapter 2
- ^ Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Kojima Productions (2010).
Chapter 4: The Illusion of Peace- "In time, all standing armies must be totally abolished."
- ―Immanuel Kant, "Perpetual Peace" Chapter 1
