The Essence of Religion (Great Books in Philosophy)
Ludwig Feuerbach was born on July 28, 1804, in Landshut, Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. He began his academic career intending to study theology at the University of Heidelberg and later at the University of Berlin. However, he soon became captivated by the dominating influence of G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831) and studied philosophy in earnest, completing his education in natural science at Erlangen. He received his doctorate in philosophy in 1828.Two years later, he published anonymously his first book, THOUGHTS ON DEATH AND IMMORTALITY, which attacked personal immortality and advocated the immortality of reabsorption in nature. Although this view, in part, kept him from academic advancement, his work set the stage for his more influential writings. THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY (1841) called religion a form of self-deception. Feuerbach argued that man unconsciously projects his best qualities onto an imaginary external being he calls God. However, practical men, Feuerbach continues, use science and technology rather than fantasy to satisfy their needs. Feuerbach's most important work, LECTURES ON THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION, comprises a series of lectures he gave throughout his academic career. In this 1851 work, Feuerbach expands the themes found in THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY, advocating the overthrow of religion by science.With his interests in religion and philosophy, Feuerbach was uniquely able to discuss, analyze, and critique both theological questions and the prevailing Hegelianism of his time. Having set his focus on man's relationship to his fellow human beings and to the world, Feuerbach criticized the idealism of Hegel in addition to recasting religion in general and Christianity in particular from a humanistic perspective. His anthropological interest in human transcendence toward the absolute and the divine compelled Feuerbach to bring these heady subjects down to a human level at which they had a greater chance of influencing the lives of real people. Reason, cooperation, and mutual understanding would demonstrate that the relationship between self and others, "I-and-thou," is fundamental and more compelling than the faith-bound desire for supernatural communion.His groundbreaking work influenced such important social philosophers and theologians as Karl Marx, Martin Buber, and Karl Barth. In rejecting religion and embracing materialism, Feuerbach emphasized the biological nature of man, and his critique of Hegel's idealism built the foundation for the revolutionary work of Marx and Friedrich Engels.Feuerbach retired to Nuremberg in 1860, where he died on September 13, 1872. His other works include TOWARD THE CRITIQUE OF THE HEGELIAN PHILOSOPHY (1839), PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE FUTURE (1844), and THE ESSENCE OF FAITH ACCORDING TO LUTHER (1844).