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.
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].
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the profound impact of food on human culture, health, and ethics.
Ludwig Feuerbach's quote highlights the vital connection between food and the foundation of human existence. He argues that the quality and nature of what we consume influence not only our physical well-being but also our thoughts, culture, and societal structure. By nurturing individuals with better food, we can foster a more enlightened and improved society, as he famously concludes that 'man is what he eats.'
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community wellness, one might say, 'As Feuerbach eloquently stated, man is what he eats, highlighting the importance of nutrition in improving our society.'
More from Ludwig Feuerbach
All quotes →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.
To theology, ... only what it holds sacred is true, whereas to philosophy, only what holds true is sacred.
In the consciousness of the infinite, the conscious subject has for his object the infinity of his own nature.
[T]ruth is considered profane, and only illusion is sacred
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.
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Character - Some day, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now, in these quiet weeks. Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long-continued process.
It is day by day that we go forward; today we are as we were yesterday and tomorrow we shall be like ourselves today. So we go on without being aware of it, and this is one of the miracles of Providence that I so love.