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KarlMarx1845ThesesOnFeuerbachWritten:byMarxinBrusselsinthespringof1845,underthetitle“1)adFeuerbach”;Marx’soriginaltextwasfirstpublishedin1924,inGermanandinRussiantranslation,bytheInstituteofMarxism-LeninisminMarx-EngelsArchives,BookI,Moscow.TheEnglishtranslationwasfirstpublishedintheLawrenceandWisharteditionofTheGermanIdeologyin1938.Themostwidelyknownversionofthe“Theses”isthatbasedonEngels’editedversion,publishedasanappendixtohisLudwigFeuerbachin1888,wherehegaveitthetitleThesesonFeuerbach;Translated:byCyrilSmith2002,basedonworkdonejointlywithDonCuckson.1Themaindefectofallhitherto-existingmaterialism—thatofFeuerbachincluded—isthattheObject[derGegenstand],actuality,sensuousness,areconceivedonlyintheformoftheobject[Objekts],orofcontemplation[Anschauung],butnotashumansensuousactivity,practice[Praxis],notsubjectively.Henceithappenedthattheactiveside,inoppositiontomaterialism,wasdevelopedbyidealism—butonlyabstractly,since,ofcourse,idealismdoesnotknowreal,sensuousactivityassuch.Feuerbachwantssensuousobjects[Objekte],differentiatedfromthought-objects,buthedoesnotconceivehumanactivityitselfasobjective[gegenständliche]activity.InTheEssenceofChristianity[DasWesendesChristenthums],hethereforeregardsthetheoreticalattitudeastheonlygenuinelyhumanattitude,whilepracticeisconceivedanddefinedonlyinitsdirty-Jewishformofappearance[Erscheinungsform].Hencehedoesnotgraspthesignificanceof‘revolutionary’,of‘practical-critical’,activity.2Thequestionwhetherobjectivetruthcanbeattributedtohumanthinkingisnotaquestionoftheorybutisapracticalquestion.Manmustprovethetruth,i.e.,therealityandpower,thethis-sidedness[Diesseitigkeit]ofhisthinking,inpractice.Thedisputeovertherealityornon-realityofthinkingwhichisisolatedfrompracticeisapurelyscholasticquestion.3Thematerialistdoctrinethatmenareproductsofcircumstancesandupbringing,andthat,therefore,changedmenareproductsofchangedcircumstancesandchangedupbringing,forgetsthatitismenwhochangecircumstancesandthattheeducatormusthimselfbeeducated.Hencethisdoctrineisboundtodividesocietyintotwoparts,oneofwhichissuperiortosociety.Thecoincidenceofthechangingofcircumstancesandofhumanactivityorself-change[Selbstveränderung]canbeconceivedandrationallyunderstoodonlyasrevolutionarypractice.4Feuerbachstartsofffromthefactofreligiousself-estrangement[Selbstentfremdung],oftheduplicationoftheworldintoareligious,imaginaryworld,andasecular[weltliche]one.Hisworkconsistsinresolvingthereligiousworldintoitssecularbasis.Heoverlooksthefactthataftercompletingthiswork,thechiefthingstillremainstobedone.Forthefactthatthesecularbasisliftsofffromitselfandestablishesitselfinthecloudsasanindependentrealmcanonlybeexplainedbytheinnerstrifeandintrinsiccontradictorinessofthissecularbasis.Thelattermustitselfbeunderstoodinitscontradictionandthen,bytheremovalofthecontradiction,revolutionised.Thus,forinstance,oncetheearthlyfamilyisdiscoveredtobethesecretoftheholyfamily,theformermustitselfbeannihilated[vernichtet]theoreticallyandpractically.5Feuerbach,notsatisfiedwithabstractthinking,wantssensuouscontemplation[Anschauung];buthedoesnotconceivesensuousnessaspractical,human-sensuousactivity.6Feuerbachresolvestheessenceofreligionintotheessenceofman[menschlicheWesen=‘humannature’].Buttheessenceofmanisnoabstractioninherentineachsingleindividual.Inreality,itistheensembleofthesocialrelations.Feuerbach,whodoesnotenteruponacriticismofthisrealessenceishenceobliged:1.Toabstractfromthehistoricalprocessandtodefinethereligioussentimentregardedbyitself,andtopresupposeanabstract—isolated-humanindividual.2.Theessencethereforecanbyhimonlyberegardedas‘species’,asaninner‘dumb’generalitywhichunitesmanyindividualsonlyinanaturalway.7Feuerbachconsequentlydoesnotseethatthe‘religioussentiment’isitselfasocialproduct,andthattheabstractindividualthatheanalysesbelongsinrealitytoaparticularsocialform.8Allsociallifeisessentiallypractical.Allmysterieswhichleadtheorytomysticismfindtheirrationalsolutioninhumanpracticeandinthecomprehensionofthispractice.9Thehighestpointreachedbycontemplative[anschauende]materialism,thatis,materialismwhichdoesnotcomprehendsensuousnessaspracticalactivity,isthecontemplationofsingleindividualsandofcivilsociety[bürgerlichenGesellschaft].10Thestandpointoftheoldmaterialismiscivilsociety;thestandpointofthenewishumansocietyorsocialhumanity.11Philosophershavehithertoonlyinterpretedtheworldinvariousways;thepointistochangeit.Feuerbach['fɔiərba:k]Archives['ɑ:kaivz]ncollectionofrecordsespeciallyaboutaninstitution