Immanuel Kant, man of purpose.. Immanuel Kant spent virtually his entire life within a few miles of Königsberg. He lived with almost military precision, following the same daily routine and taking a walk so punctual that locals joked they could set their clocks by it. Kant believed strict order and disciplined reason were essential to understanding reality itself. Though he rarely traveled, his ideas reached across the world. When he died in 1804 at age 79, his reported final words—“It is good”—reflected a life of quiet certainty. His famously timed stroll became known locally as the “Philosopher’s Walk.”