The first and highest law must be the love of man to man. Homo homini Deus est - this is the supreme practical maxim, this is the turning point of the world's History.
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
It is not as in the Bible, that God created man in his own image. But, on the contrary, man created God in his own image.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that human beliefs about God are a reflection of human qualities and experiences.
Ludwig Feuerbach's quote challenges traditional religious views by proposing that instead of God creating humans in His own image, it is humans who have fashioned the concept of God to mirror their own characteristics, desires, and understanding. This perspective invites deeper reflection on the nature of belief and the role of humanity in shaping spiritual narratives, suggesting that our gods are projections of our own values and experiences.
Themes
GodHumanityBeliefPhilosophyImage
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on the nature of spirituality, one might quote Feuerbach to illustrate views on the human-centered nature of deities.
More from Ludwig Feuerbach
All quotes βTo theology, ... only what it holds sacred is true, whereas to philosophy, only what holds true is sacred.
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
In the consciousness of the infinite, the conscious subject has for his object the infinity of his own nature.
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
[T]ruth is considered profane, and only illusion is sacred
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
This work, though it deals only with eating and drinking, which are regarded in the eyes of our supernaturalistic mock-culture as the lowest acts, is of the greatest philosophic significance and importance... How former philosophers have broken their heads over the question of the bond between body and soul! Now we know, on scientific grounds, what the masses know from long experience, that eating and drinking hold together body and soul, that the searched-for bond is nutrition.
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
The doctrine of foods is of great ethical and political significance. Food becomes blood, blood becomes heart and brain, thoughts and mind stuff. Human fare is the foundation of human culture and thought. Would you improve a nation? Give it, instead of declamations against sin, better food. Man is what he eats [Der Mensch ist, was er isst].
Ludwig FeuerbachRead
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Lastly, he must remember that he himself hath no exemption from the common lot, but that he is bound by the same laws of mortality, and liable to the same ailments and afflictions with his fellows.
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The individual cannot bargain with the State. The State recognizes no coinage but power: and it issues the coins itself.
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