From his welcome remarks at the White House dinner for the Indian prime minister:
This wasn't quite what Kant had in mind, I suspect.As we all know, in India some of life's most treasured moments are often celebrated under the cover of a beautiful tent. It's a little like tonight. We have incredible food and music and are surrounded by great friends. For it's been said that "the most beautiful things in the universe are the starry heavens above us and the feeling of duty within us."
Mr. Prime Minister, today we worked to fulfill our duty --bring our countries closer together than ever before. Tonight, under the stars, we celebrate the spirit that will sustain our partnership -- the bonds of friendship between our people.
(Thanks to David Wood for the pointer.)
UPDATE: Jacob Stegenga (UCSD) writes:
A quick internet scan suggests that Obama's quote is (also) an Indian proverb; given that Obama was hosting the Indian Prime Minister, it seems plausible that Obama's speechwriter was actually quoting this proverb. This would also explain Obama's locution "it's been said that..."
Do you know if Kant explicitly borrowed his famous line from India? A quick look at the SEP on Kant's intellectual development shows nothing. Another quick internet scan shows nothing on the source of the proverb. Perhaps we've found a nice mystery of intellectual history!
Certainly when Obama does unKantian things like not sign the land mine treaty, one wonders about the depth of his understanding of things Kantian. In any case, I've opened comments, since I'm sure some scholar out there knows the answer to the question whether the Indian proverb derives from Kant or vice versa?