The Philosophy Book

189

See also: Thales of Miletus 22–23 ■ Georg Hegel 178–85 ■ Karl Marx 196–203

T

he 19th-century German

philosopher Ludwig

Feuerbach is best known

for his book The Essence of

Christianity (1841), which inspired

revolutionary thinkers such as Karl

Marx and Friedrich Engels. The

book incorporates much of the

philosophical thinking of Georg

Hegel, but where Hegel saw an

Absolute Spirit as the guiding force

in nature, Feuerbach sees no reason

to look beyond our experience to

explain existence. For Feuerbach,

humans are not an externalized

form of an Absolute Spirit, but the

opposite: we have created the idea

of a great spirit, a god, from our

own longings and desires.

Imagining God

Feuerbach suggests that in our

yearning for all that is best in

humankind—love, compassion,

kindness, and so on—we have

imagined a being that incorporates

all of these qualities in the highest

possible degree, and then called

it “God.” Theology (the study of

God) is therefore nothing more

than anthropology (the study of

humanity). Not only have we

deceived ourselves into thinking

that a divine being exists, we have

also forgotten or forsaken what we

are ourselves. We have lost sight of

the fact that these virtues actually

exist in humans, not gods. For this

reason we should focus less on

heavenly righteousness and more

on human justice—it is people

in this life, on this Earth, that

deserve our attention. ■

THE AGE OF REVOLUTION

IN CONTEXT

BRANCH
Philosophy of religion

APPROACH
Atheism

BEFORE
C.600 BCE Thales is the first
Western philosopher to deny
that the universe owes its
existence to a god.

C.500 BCE The Indian school
of atheistic philosophy known
as Carvaka is established.

C.400 BCE The ancient Greek
philosopher Diagoras of Melos
puts forward arguments in
defense of atheism.

AFTER
Mid-19th century Karl
Marx uses Feuerbach’s
reasoning in his philosophy
of political revolution.

Late 19th century The
psychoanalyst Sigmund
Freud argues that religion is
a projection of human wishes.

THEOLOGY IS

ANTHROPOLOGY

LUDWIG ANDREAS FEUERBACH (1804–1872)

The Israelites of the Bible, in their

need for certainty and reassurance,

created a false god—the golden calf—

to worship. Feuerbach argues that all

gods are created in the same way.