Educated at Ansbach Gymnasium and Heidelberg University where he studied theology, Feuerbach transferred to Berlin University in 1824, in order to study under Georg Hegel. So taken by Hegelianism, he altered his goals to a study of philosophy. Because of a lack of funds, he was forced to transfer to Erlangen where he studied physical sciences while working on his thesis, On the Infinitude, Unity and Commonality of Reason, which was completed in 1828. He then taught for a time at Erlangen. In 1830, he published anonymously his first book, Thoughts on Death and Immortality, which was highly critical of popular religious doctrines. Years later, when it became known that he was indeed the author of the work, he was dismissed from Erlangen. Luckily, he married Berthe Low, a wealthy woman, which allowed him to retire to her home in Bruckberg, and to assume a career as an independent scholar. In 1839, he published Critique of Hegelian Philosophy and in 1841, The Essence of Christianity. These works established him as an intellectual leader. In 1842, he published Preliminary Thesis on the Reform of Philosophy and in 1843, Principles of the Philosophy of the Future. By the 1850's, his influence had waned and in 1860 his wife's business declared bankruptcy which forced him to move to Rechenberg where he was supported financially by the Social Democratic Workers Party and friends. Beginning his career as an idealist, Feuerbach slowly evolved into an atheist and communist. His views would subsequently influence such thinkers as Nietzsche, Freud and Marx. Feuerbach's other works include The History of Modern Philosophy from Bacon to Spinoza (1833), The Presentation and Development and Criticism of Leibniz's Philosophy (1837), Pierre Bayle (1838), The Dualism of Body and Soul, Flesh and Spirit (1846) and Lectures on the Essence of Religion (1848). |
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