theses feuerbach karl marx

Theses On Feuerbach 1938 translation of Marx’s original

Source : MECW Volume 5, p. 3; Written : by Marx in Brussels in the spring of 1845, under the title “1) ad Feuerbach”; This version was first published in 1924 — in German and in Russian — by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in Marx-Engels Archives, Book I, Moscow. First Published : the English translation was first published in the Lawrence and Wishart edition of The German Ideology in 1938.

1) ad Feuerbach [1] 1

The chief defect of all previous materialism (that of Feuerbach included) is that things [ Gegenstand ], reality, sensuousness are conceived only in the form of the object, or of contemplation , but not as sensuous human activity, practice , not subjectively. Hence, in contradistinction to materialism, the active side was set forth abstractly by idealism — which, of course, does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects, really distinct from conceptual objects, but he does not conceive human activity itself as objective activity. In Das Wesen des Christenthums , he therefore regards the theoretical attitude as the only genuinely human attitude, while practice is conceived and defined only in its dirty-Jewish form of appearance [2] . Hence he does not grasp the significance of “revolutionary”, of “practical-critical”, activity.

The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. Man must prove the truth, i.e., the reality and power, the this-worldliness of his thinking in practice. The dispute over the reality or non-reality of thinking which is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question.

The materialist doctrine concerning the changing of circumstances and upbringing forgets that circumstances are changed by men and that the educator must himself be educated. This doctrine must, therefore, divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society.

The coincidence of the changing of circumstances and of human activity or self-change can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionary practice.

Feuerbach starts out from the fact of religious self-estrangement, of the duplication of the world into a religious world and a secular one. His work consists in resolving the religious world into its secular basis. But that the secular basis lifts off from itself and establishes itself as an independent realm in the clouds can only be explained by the inner strife and intrinsic contradictoriness of this secular basis. The latter must, therefore, itself be both understood in its contradiction and revolutionised in practice. Thus, for instance, once the earthly family is discovered to be the secret of the holy family, the former must then itself be destroyed in theory and in practice.

Feuerbach, not satisfied with abstract thinking , wants [ sensuous ] contemplation ; but he does not conceive sensuousness as practical , human-sensuous activity.

Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of man . But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations.

Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real essence, is hence obliged:

1. To abstract from the historical process and to define the religious sentiment [ Gem�t ] by itself, and to presuppose an abstract — isolated — human individual.

2. Essence, therefore, can be regarded only as “species”, as an inner, mute, general character which unites the many individuals in a natural way .

Feuerbach, consequently, does not see that the “religious sentiment” is itself a social product, and that the abstract individual which he analyses belongs to a particular form of society.

All social life is essentially practical . All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice.

The highest point reached by contemplative materialism, that is, materialism which does not comprehend sensuousness as practical activity, is the contemplation of single individuals and of civil society.

The standpoint of the old materialism is “civil” society; the standpoint of the new is human society, or social humanity.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.

Deutsch | 1969 Selected Works translation | 2002 translation of Marx’s original | MECW translation of Engels’ 1888 version

Marx/Engels Works Archive | Study Guide | Engels on Feuerbach | Image of Thesis 11 | Works Index

Theses on Feuerbach

Originally written in 1845, these notes were not published until after Marx's death in 1888 by Engels.

The main deficiency, up to now, in all materialism – including that of Feuerbach – is that the external object, reality and sensibility are conceived only in the form of the object and of our contemplation of it, rather than as sensuous human activity and as practice – as something non-subjective. For this reason, the active aspect has been developed by idealism, in opposition to materialism, though only abstractly, since idealism naturally does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects, clearly distinguished from mental objects, but he does not conceive human activity in terms of subject and object. That is why, in The Essence of Christianity , he regards only theoretical activity as authentically human, whilst practice is conceived and defined only in its dirty Jewish manifestation. He therefore does not understand the meaning of “revolutionary”, of practical-critical activity.

The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but a practical question. Man must prove in practice the truth - i.e. the reality and power, the worldliness - of his thinking. Isolated from practice, the controversy over the reality or unreality of thinking is a purely scholastic question.

The materialist doctrine that humans are products of circumstances and upbringing and that, therefore, men who change are products of new circumstances and a different upbringing, forgets that circumstances are changed by men themselves, and that it is essential to educate the educator. Necessarily, then, this doctrine divides society into two parts, one of which is placed above society (for example, in the work of Robert Owen).

The coincidence of changing circumstance on the one hand, and of human activity or self-changing on the other, can be conceived only as revolutionary practice, and rationally understood.

Feuerbach starts out from the fact of religious self-alienation and the duplication of the world into an imagined religious world and a real world. His work consists in resolving the religious world into its secular basis. He overlooks that, once this work is completed, the central task remains to be done. But the fact that the secular basis detaches from itself and fixes in the clouds as an independent realm can be explained only by the self-negation and self-contradiction within it. This must be first of all understood in the context of its contradictions, and then be revolutionised by the removal of those contradictions. Thus, for instance, once the earthly family is discovered to be the secret of the holy family, the former must then be theoretically critiqued and practically overthrown.

Feuerbach, not satisfied with abstract thinking, appeals to sensory intuition; but he does not conceive the realm of the senses in terms of practical, human sensuous activity.

Feuerbach resolves the religious essence into the human essence. But the human essence is not an abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality, it is the ensemble of social conditions.

Feuerbach, who does not undertake a criticism of this real essence, is therefore compelled:

1. To abstract from the historical process and to fix the religious sentiment as something by itself and to presuppose an abstract – isolated – human individual;

2. For this reason, he can consider the human essence only as a “genus”, as an internal, mute generality which naturally unites the multiplicity of individuals.

Feuerbach therefore does not see that “religious sentiment” is itself a social product, and that the abstract individual that he analyses belongs in reality to a particular social form.

Social life is essentially practical. All the mysteries which turn theory towards mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the understanding of this practice.

The highest point reached by intuitive materialism - that is, materialism which does not comprehend the activity of the senses as practical activity - is the point-of-view of single individuals in “bourgeois society”.

The standpoint of the old materialism is “bourgeois” society; the standpoint of the new is human society, or socialised mankind.

Philosophers have only interpreted the world in different ways. What is crucial, however, is to change it.

This work is in the public domain worldwide because it has been so released by the copyright holder.

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Karl Marx, “Theses on Feuerbach” (1845)

Karl Marx is known as the father of communism. Written in 1845, his “Theses on Feuerbach” outlined the basic tendencies of his thought. A radical materialist, Marx wanted nothing to do with religious or philosophical forms of speculation. Both of these forms, he argued, were themselves determined by the material facts of social life. The essence of the human person as a thinking self, in fact, could only be understood in terms of one’s own social location and the economic relationships by which one was utterly dominated. Marx grounded his philosophy of historical change upon these ideas. Alterations in political history were due not to ideas, however derived, but to underlying forces at the base of society. He concluded these theses with his famous appeal for a new kind of philosophy, one that would not interpret human reality, but rather change it. Marx’s ideas influenced every area of modern German knowledge, from political and social thought to ethical reflection, cultural analysis, and university scholarship.

I The chief defect of all hitherto existing materialism—that of Feuerbach included—is that the thing, reality, sensuousness, is conceived only in the form of the object or of contemplation , but not as sensuous human activity, practice , not subjectively. Hence, in contradistinction to materialism, the active side was developed abstractly by idealism—which, of course, does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects, really distinct from the thought objects, but he does not conceive human activity itself as objective activity. Hence, in The Essence of Christianity , he regards the theoretical attitude as the only genuinely human attitude, while practice is conceived and fixed only in its dirty-judaical manifestation. Hence, he does not grasp the significance of “revolutionary,” of “practical-critical,” activity.

II The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. Man must prove the truth—i.e. the reality and power, the this-sidedness of his thinking in practice. The dispute over the reality or non-reality of thinking that is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question.

III The materialist doctrine concerning the changing of circumstances and upbringing forgets that circumstances are changed by men and that it is essential to educate the educator himself. This doctrine must, therefore, divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society. The coincidence of the changing of circumstances and of human activity or self-changing can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionary practice .

IV Feuerbach starts out from the fact of religious self-alienation, of the duplication of the world into a religious world and a secular one. His work consists in resolving the religious world into its secular basis. But that the secular basis detaches itself from itself and establishes itself as an independent realm in the clouds can only be explained by the cleavages and self-contradictions within this secular basis. The latter must, therefore, in itself be both understood in its contradiction and revolutionized in practice. Thus, for instance, after the earthly family is discovered to be the secret of the holy family, the former must then itself be destroyed in theory and in practice.

V Feuerbach, not satisfied with abstract thinking, wants contemplation; but he does not conceive sensuousness as practical, human-sensuous activity.

VI Feuerbach resolves the religious essence into the human essence. But the human essence is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations. Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real essence, is consequently compelled: 1. To abstract from the historical process and to fix the religious sentiment as something by itself and to presuppose an abstract—isolated—human individual. 2. Essence, therefore, can be comprehended only as “genus”, as an internal, dumb generality which naturally unites the many individuals.

VII Feuerbach, consequently, does not see that the “religious sentiment” is itself a social product, and that the abstract individual whom he analyses belongs to a particular form of society.

VIII All social life is essentially practical. All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice.

IX The highest point reached by contemplative materialism, that is, materialism which does not comprehend sensuousness as practical activity, is contemplation of single individuals and of civil society.

X The standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the standpoint of the new is human society, or social humanity.

XI The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.

Source of English translation: Marx/Engels Internet Archive (marxists.org) 1995, 1999, 2002. Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the terms of CC BY-SA 2.0. Available online at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/theses/theses.htm

Source of original German text: Karl Marx, “Thesen über Feuerbach,” in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Werke , vol. 3. Berlin: Dietz, 1962, pp. 5–7.

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Karl Marx’s Theses on Feuerbach. A New English Translation Based on the New Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe. By Carlos Bendaña-Pedroza

2020, KARL_MARX_THESES_ON_FEUERBACH_NEW_ENGLISH_TRANSLATION_ BASED_ON_THE_NEW_MEGA_CARLOS_BENDAÑA-PEDROZA_BONN_2022

A new English translation of Karl Marx’s “Theses on Feuerbach” based on the text of the new Marx-Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA), sec. IV, vol. 3, Berlin, 1998; and on the reading outlined by the translator in his essay: El manifiesto del método (Manifesto of Method), Bonn, 2015 (1981).

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English translation based on a systematic textual and contextual analysis. The „Theses on Feuerbach“ are the fundamental text of marxism and a key text of the history of philosophy. Hence the importance of the accurate translation of this document.

Karl_Marx_Thesen_über_Feuerbach_Theses_on_Feuerbach_German_Text_English_Translation_Carlos_Bendaña-Pedroza_Bonn_2019

German Text of the Marx-Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA,1932) and the Marx-Engels Werke (MEW, 1958). English translation based on the textual and contextual analysis, which the translator has outlined in El manifiesto del método (Manifesto of Method, 2015 [1981])

KARL_MARX_THESEN_ÜBER_FEUERBACH_NEUE_ENGLISCHE_ÜBERSETZUNG_NACH_DER_NEUEN_MEGA_CARLOS_BENDAÑA-PEDROZA_BONN_2020

Neue englische Übersetzung der “Thesen über Feuerbach“ von Karl Marx, nach dem Text der neuen Marx-Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA), Abt. IV, Bd. 3, Berlin, 1998; und nach der Lektüre, die der Übersetzer in seinem Versuch: El manifiesto del método (Das Manifest der Methode), Bonn, 2015 (1981) skizziert hat.

Roberto Finelli

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Krisis: Journal for Contemporary Philosophy

Chad Kautzer

The notion of 'educating the educator' appeared as part of Marx's posthumously published Theses on euerbach (1845), which criticizes the materialism of fellow Left Hegelian Ludwig Feuerbach for being merely contemplative [anschauend] " and one-sided. It accounts for the sensuousness (Sinnlichkeit) of the world of our xperience and its impact on our consciousness, Marx argues, but fails to address the way our praxis constitutes his world. Feuerbach, thus, misses the fact that we are encountering ourselves, the outcome of our labor, when e encounter the world; what Georg Lukács will later describe as a condition of reification. Moreover, Marx ontinues, any materialism that overlooks the transformative role of our praxis—the negativity Hegel located at he core of subjectivity1—prevents us from grasping not only the truth of experience, but the significance of evolutionary praxis as well.2 We are thus limited to what Jacques Rancière calls " impotent contemplation " 3 nd Lukács describes as a " fatalistic stance, " 4 allowing us to do little more than interpret the world, when, as arx's famous eleventh thesis on Feuerbach proclaims, the task is to change it. Although the eleventh thesis continues to be the most famous, Marx's third thesis—wherein he asserts it is essential to educate the educator " —arguably provides more insight into his critical project and the history G. W. F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, trans. A. V. Miller (New York: Oxford, 1977), para. 194. Hegel claimed that the proof of concepts is found in their actualization in the world—allowing immediate ertainty to become mediated truth—while Marx argued this actualization is the result of praxis, which is why he omission of praxis obscures the nature of truth. Jacques Rancière, The Philosopher and His Poor, trans.

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Theses On Feuerbach Original version

Source : MECW Volume 5, p. 3; Written : by Marx in Brussels in the spring of 1845, under the title “1) ad Feuerbach”; This version was first published in 1924 — in German and in Russian — by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in Marx-Engels Archives, Book I, Moscow. First Published : the English translation was first published in the Lawrence and Wishart edition of The German Ideology in 1938.

1) ad Feuerbach [1] 1

The chief defect of all previous materialism (that of Feuerbach included) is that things [ Gegenstand ], reality, sensuousness are conceived only in the form of the object, or of contemplation , but not as sensuous human activity, practice , not subjectively. Hence, in contradistinction to materialism, the active side was set forth abstractly by idealism — which, of course, does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects, really distinct from conceptual objects, but he does not conceive human activity itself as objective activity. In Das Wesen des Christenthums , he therefore regards the theoretical attitude as the only genuinely human attitude, while practice is conceived and defined only in its dirty-Jewish form of appearance [2] . Hence he does not grasp the significance of “revolutionary”, of “practical-critical”, activity.

The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. Man must prove the truth, i.e., the reality and power, the this-worldliness of his thinking in practice. The dispute over the reality or non-reality of thinking which is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question.

The materialist doctrine concerning the changing of circumstances and upbringing forgets that circumstances are changed by men and that the educator must himself be educated. This doctrine must, therefore, divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society.

The coincidence of the changing of circumstances and of human activity or self-change can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionary practice.

Feuerbach starts out from the fact of religious self-estrangement, of the duplication of the world into a religious world and a secular one. His work consists in resolving the religious world into its secular basis. But that the secular basis lifts off from itself and establishes itself as an independent realm in the clouds can only be explained by the inner strife and intrinsic contradictoriness of this secular basis. The latter must, therefore, itself be both understood in its contradiction and revolutionised in practice. Thus, for instance, once the earthly family is discovered to be the secret of the holy family, the former must then itself be destroyed in theory and in practice.

Feuerbach, not satisfied with abstract thinking , wants [sensuous] contemplation ; but he does not conceive sensuousness as practical , human-sensuous activity.

Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of man . But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In its reality it is the ensemble of the social relations.

Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real essence, is hence obliged:

1. To abstract from the historical process and to define the religious sentiment [ Gemüt ] by itself, and to presuppose an abstract — isolated — human individual.

2. Essence, therefore, can be regarded only as “species”, as an inner, mute, general character which unites the many individuals in a natural way .

Feuerbach, consequently, does not see that the “religious sentiment” is itself a social product, and that the abstract individual which he analyses belongs to a particular form of society.

All social life is essentially practical . All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice.

The highest point reached by contemplative materialism, that is, materialism which does not comprehend sensuousness as practical activity, is the contemplation of single individuals and of civil society.

The standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the standpoint of the new is human society, or social humanity.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.

Marx/Engels Archive | As edited by Engels | Engels on Feuerbach | Image of Thesis 11

HeinOnline Blog

A brief biography of revolutionary socialist karl marx.

• By Lauren Zazzara
• June 26, 2024

German philosopher and socialist Karl Marx had a profound impact on history, sociology, politics, and economics. He may not have seen much of this influence within his lifetime—he died poor, stateless, widowed, and in ill health in 1883—but his ideas and his writings, particularly The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital , would serve as inspiration for various revolutions throughout the 20th century.

With the help of HeinOnline, let’s take a look at Karl Marx’s life, philosophy, and legacy.

A Mischievous Youth

Karl’s high school was run by a liberal principal who was friends with Heinrich and drew suspicion from local police forces, who raided the school in 1832. Karl then began studying humanities at the University of Bonn, where he was generally a troublemaker—he was arrested for drunkenness and participated in a duel, among other schemes. His father encouraged him to transfer to the more academic University of Berlin, where Karl would study law and philosophy.

Radical Roots & Introduction to Hegelianism

Marx & engels.

Marx became co-editor for Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher (German-French Annals) and moved to Paris with his new wife, Jenny von Westphalen, to whom he had been engaged for several years. It was while working on this short-lived paper that he met German socialist Friedrich Engels at a cafe on August 28, 1844. Their friendship would prove to shape Marx’s career. Engels had spent time in England observing the working class struggle there and in his publication The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 posited that it would be the working class that would lead an emancipatory revolution.

The Communist Manifesto

Struggles and successes, das kapital.

Marx’s philosophy is best demonstrated in his life’s work, Das Kapital . The text consists of three volumes, only the first of which was published in Marx’s lifetime, in 1867—Engels published the second two volumes after Marx’s death. In the text, Marx describes his theory that capital is created through the exploitation of the laboring classes, whose unpaid work creates surplus value that benefits the owning classes. According to Marx, the very nature of capitalism will lead to its collapse—eventually, the working class will engage in a revolution and establish a communist government, through which the proletariat will take ownership of industry and production.

Death and Influence

Marx suffered from poor health throughout his life, including depression and liver issues which were exacerbated by heavy drinking, excessive work, and chronic insomnia. Towards the end of his life, he also experienced painful welts on his skin. He passed away from bronchitis and pleurisy on March 15, 1883, two years after his wife died. He was buried at Highgate Cemetery, and his tomb was later inscribed with the last line from The Communist Manifesto , “Workers of all Lands United,” as well as the phrase “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways—the point however is to change it,” from his Thesis on Feurerbach .

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Friedrich Engels als Soldat in Berlin, Karl Marx als Student

Maurice Schuhmann hat einen philosophiegeschichtlichen Stadtführer geschrieben

• Andreas Fritsche
• 27.06.2024, 17:06 Uhr
• Lesedauer: 3 Min.

»Die Philosophen haben die Welt nur verschieden interpretiert, es kommt aber drauf an, sie zu verändern«, steht im Foyer der Berliner Humboldt-Universität zu lesen. Es ist die elfte These über Ludwig Feuerbach , aufgestellt vom Philosophen Karl Marx, dessen Ideen die Welt verändert haben .

Feuerbach studiert ab 1824 in Berlin, Marx bis 1841. Feuerbach wechselt 1825 von der theologischen zur philosophischen Fakultät, Marx bleibt in seinen Berliner Jahren für Jura eingeschrieben, obwohl sein Interesse für die Philosophie aufkeimt. So schildert es Maurice Schuhmann in seinem philosophiegeschichtlichen Stadtführer »Geistreiches Berlin und Potsdam«.

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Karl Marx 1845

Theses On Feuerbach

Written : by Marx in Brussels in the spring of 1845, under the title “1) ad Feuerbach”; Marx’s original text was first published in 1924, in German and in Russian translation, by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism in Marx-Engels Archives, Book I, Moscow. The English translation was first published in the Lawrence and Wishart edition of The German Ideology   in 1938. The most widely known version of the Theses is that based on Engels’ edited version, published as an appendix to his Ludwig Feuerbach in 1888, where he gave it the title Theses on Feuerbach ; Translated : by Cyril Smith 2002, based on work done jointly with Don Cuckson.

The main defect of all hitherto-existing materialism — that of Feuerbach included — is that the Object [ der Gegenstand ] , actuality, sensuousness, are conceived only in the form of the object [ Objekts ] , or of contemplation [ Anschauung ] , but not as human sensuous activity, practice [ Praxis ] , not subjectively. Hence it happened that the active side, in opposition to materialism, was developed by idealism — but only abstractly, since, of course, idealism does not know real, sensuous activity as such. Feuerbach wants sensuous objects [ Objekte ] , differentiated from thought-objects, but he does not conceive human activity itself as objective [ gegenst�ndliche ] activity. In The Essence of Christianity [ Das Wesen des Christenthums ] , he therefore regards the theoretical attitude as the only genuinely human attitude, while practice [ Praxis ] is conceived and defined only in its dirty-Jewish form of appearance [ Erscheinungsform ] [1] . Hence he does not grasp the significance of ‘revolutionary’, of ‘practical-critical’, activity.

The question whether objective truth can be attributed to human thinking is not a question of theory but is a practical question. Man must prove the truth, i.e. , the reality and power, the this-sidedness [ Diesseitigkeit ] of his thinking, in practice. The dispute over the reality or non-reality of thinking which is isolated from practice is a purely scholastic question.

The materialist doctrine that men are products of circumstances and upbringing, and that, therefore, changed men are products of changed circumstances and changed upbringing, forgets that it is men who change circumstances and that the educator must himself be educated. Hence this doctrine is bound to divide society into two parts, one of which is superior to society. The coincidence of the changing of circumstances and of human activity or self-change [ Selbstver�nderung ] can be conceived and rationally understood only as revolutionary practice .

Feuerbach starts off from the fact of religious self-estrangement [ Selbstentfremdung ] , of the duplication of the world into a religious, imaginary world, and a secular [ weltliche ] one. His work consists in resolving the religious world into its secular basis. He overlooks the fact that after completing this work, the chief thing still remains to be done. For the fact that the secular basis lifts off from itself and establishes itself in the clouds as an independent realm can only be explained by the inner strife and intrinsic contradictoriness of this secular basis. The latter must itself be understood in its contradiction and then, by the removal of the contradiction, revolutionised. Thus, for instance, once the earthly family is discovered to be the secret of the holy family, the former must itself be annihilated [ vernichtet ] theoretically and practically.

Feuerbach, not satisfied with abstract thinking , wants sensuous contemplation [ Anschauung ] ; but he does not conceive sensuousness as practical , human-sensuous activity.

Feuerbach resolves the essence of religion into the essence of man [ menschliche Wesen = ‘human nature’] . But the essence of man is no abstraction inherent in each single individual. In reality, it is the ensemble of the social relations. Feuerbach, who does not enter upon a criticism of this real essence is hence obliged:

1. To abstract from the historical process and to define the religious sentiment regarded by itself, and to presuppose an abstract — isolated - human individual.

2. The essence therefore can by him only be regarded as ‘species’, as an inner ‘dumb’ generality which unites many individuals only in a natural way.

Feuerbach consequently does not see that the ‘religious sentiment’ is itself a social product , and that the abstract individual that he analyses belongs in reality to a particular social form.

All social life is essentially practical . All mysteries which lead theory to mysticism find their rational solution in human practice and in the comprehension of this practice.

The highest point reached by contemplative [ anschauende ] materialism, that is, materialism which does not comprehend sensuousness as practical activity, is the contemplation of single individuals and of civil society [ b�rgerlichen Gesellschaft ] .

The standpoint of the old materialism is civil society; the standpoint of the new is human society or social humanity.

Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.

1. “Dirty-Jewish” — according to Marhsall Berman, this is an allusion to the Jewish God of the Old Testament, who had to ‘get his hands dirty’ making the world, tied up with a symbolic contrast between the Christian God of the Word, and the God of the Deed, symbolising practical life. See The Significance of the Creation in Judaism , Essence of Christianity 1841

Deutsch | 1938 translation of Marx’s original | 1969 Selected Works translation | Engels’ 1888 version

Marx/Engels Works Archive | Study Guide | Engels on Feuerbach | Image of Thesis 11 | Works Index