Synthesized answer
Protestantism, according to Feuerbach, is the religious or practical form of the humanization of God, focusing solely on the "human God, Christ" and what God is "for man" rather than "what God is in himself" [1]. Unlike Catholicism, Protestantism has ceased to be theology and is essentially "Christology," which Feuerbach defines as "religious anthropology" [1].
The crucial theoretical limitation Feuerbach identifies in Protestantism's approach to God-in-himself is that it "negated God-in-himself or God as God... only in practice; theoretically, it left him intact" [1]. Theoretically, God remains a transcendent being or one that will eventually become an object in heaven, but not an object for religious man [1]. Speculative philosophy aims to overcome this gap by engaging in the "rational or theoretical assimilation and dissolution of the God who is other-worldly to religion, and hence not given to it as an object" [1]. It accomplishes this by abstracting from all that is immediately or sensuously given, making this act of abstraction its own beginning [3]. The passages do not explicitly detail how speculative philosophy overcomes the specific theoretical limitation in…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
The religious or practical form of this humanisation was Protestantism. The God who is man, that is to say the human God, Christ, this and only this is the God of Protestantism. Unlike Catholicism, Protestantism is no longer concerned with what God is in himself, but only with what he is for man; hence, it knows no speculative or contemplative tendency like Catholicism. It has ceased to be theology — it is essentially Christology; that 1s, religious anthropology. §3 However, Protestantism negated God-in-himself or God as God — for only God-in-himself is, strictly speaking, God — only…
In ordinary theology, God is thus a contradiction with himself, for he is supposed to be a non-human, a super-human being, and yet with respect to all his determinations, he is in truth only a human being. In speculative theology or philosophy on the other hand, God is in contradiction to man; he is supposed to be the essence of man — at any rate of reason — but he is in truth a non-human, a super-human, that 1s, an abstract being. In ordinary theology, the super-human God 1s only an edifying phrase, a mere idea, a toy of fantasy; in speculative philosophy, on the other hand, he is…
The beginning of speculative philosophy, in so far as it is a beginning without any presuppositions whatsoever, is nothing else than the beginning without presuppositions, or the aseity of the Divine Being. Theology distinguishes between active and reposing qualities of God. Philosophy, however, transforms even the qualities of repose into active ones; the whole being of God into activity — human activity. This is also true of what was mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph. Philosophy presupposes nothing; this can only mean that it abstracts from all that is immediately or…
Just as once the abstraction from all that is sensuous and material was the necessary condition of theology, so it was also the necessary condition of speculative philosophy, the only difference being that the abstraction of theology was itself a sensuous abstraction (or ascetics) because its object, although arrived at through abstraction, was nevertheless conceived as a sensuous being, whereas the abstraction of speculative philosophy is only spiritual and ideated, having only a scientific or theoretical, but no practical, meaning. The beginning of Cartesian philosophy — namely, the…
For ordinary theology, God is an object just like any other sensuous object; but, at the same time, he is also a subject for it, and, indeed, just like the human subject. God creates things that are apart from himself, he is referred back to himself in a reflexive self-relationship and is related to other things existing apart from him; he both loves and contemplates himself simultaneously with other beings. In short, man makes his thoughts, even his feelings, the thoughts and feelings of God; his own essence and standpoint are made the essence and standpoint of God. Speculative…
More questions about this book
- Feuerbach states the modern era's task is "the realisation and humanisation of God." If you were explaining this to a high school student, how would you simplify what "humanisation of God" means and why it necessitates "the transformation and dissolution of theology into anthropology"?
- Feuerbach claims, "what is other-worldly to religion, is this-worldly to philosophy." Unpack what this statement means in practical terms. How does this reorientation change the fundamental object and method of inquiry for philosophy compared to religion?
- How does Feuerbach's assertion that "God qua God is nothing but the essence of reason itself" fundamentally challenge the concept of God presented by "ordinary theology and Theism"? What are the logical consequences for human understanding of divinity if God is solely reason's essence, rather than a separate independent being?
- Synthesize the initial arguments presented. What "new philosophy" is Feuerbach proposing, and how does it fundamentally redefine the relationship between humanity, theology, and reason in a way that differs from the historical approaches he critiques?