On knowledge in Ludwig Feuerbach: an investigation from the Gedanken über Tod und Unsterblichkeit (1830)

Abstract

This paper deals with investigating a possible interest of Ludwig Feuerbach (1804-1872) in the subject of knowledge, in this specific case based on his work entitled Thoughts on death and immortality (Gedanken über Tod und Unsterblichkeit [1830]). Although this theme appears to be a lateral object within his work and where there seems to be no systematic treatment of it, this paper tries to support its legitimacy by concluding that the question of knowledge is not only present, but that it has direct implications for the understanding of other problems that arise either in the mentioned 1830 text or in future works, which suggests the importance of examining this issue at length. The problem is investigated here based on a typology of knowledge, in order to evaluate points such as the distinction between subjectivity and objectivity, as well as human capacities regarding an understanding of exteriority - in which the centrality of sensitivity appears as a condition for the realization of knowledge - without disregarding the viability of abstraction. The paper is concluded by announcing that the theme - appreciation of nature - seems to be already considered back there in 1830 (and which will be taken up in later Feuerbachian thought). As such, the paper stands for the effort to understand the question of knowledge from its link with nature and with the time-and-space dimension, a configuration that determines any real existence.

Keywords: Ludwig Feuerbach, knowledge, Thoughts about death and immortality.