FEUERBACH'S PHILOSOPHY

FEUERBACH'S PHILOSOPHY OF THE FUTURE: I AM HUMAN AND BELIEVE THAT NOTHING HUMAN IS ALIEN TO ME

The purpose of this paper is to examine the philosophical model of Ludwig Feuerbach (1957, 1986). In particular, the paper attempts to answer three primary questions with the goal of explicating the essential philosophical postulates and principles of Feuerbach's perspective. These questions are:

(1) How is it that Feuerbach's assertion "I am human and believe nothing human is alien to me," has come to be considered the motto of the "new philosopher?"

(2) What connection does Feuerbach's basic assertion (motto) have to Hegelian philosophy?

(3) In what sense can Feuerbach be viewed as a founder of secular humanism?

Feuerbach's Assertion and the New Philosophers.

Feuerbach's (1957, 1986) assertion, "I am human, and believe nothing human is alien to me" is best understood as the expression of a perspective that places humankind at the core of all attempts at a philosophical understanding of truth and reality. Contrasting this to earlier philosophical notions (the old philosophers), Harvey (1997) points out that up until Feuerbach expressed his views, human beings in philosophical thought were thinking beings who were essentially conceptualized as abstract minds to which bodies hardly belonged. This emphasis upon the mind of man as the epitome of both his nature and the source whereby his nature was best understood constituted the core concept of the philosophic

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Category: Philosophy - F