JON STEWART ON LUDWIG FEUERBACH’S DOCTRINE OF THE HUMANITY OF THE DIVINE IN THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY

For several decades, Ludwig Feuerbach, who in his young years was known as Hegel’s student and follower and later as one of his harshest critics, has for many reasons been a significantly neglected philosopher. However, in recent years, we have been witnesses to a kind of renaissance of Feuerbach’s philosophy. Thinkers such as Jürgen Habermas have been discovering the traces of Feuerbach’s anthropology and dialogical philosophy in several branches of the contemporary, post-metaphysical thought. One of the researchers whose professional activities have contributed to the revival of an interest in Feuerbach’s philosophy is Jon Stewart. In his book, Hegel’s Century: Alienation and Recognition in a Time of Revolution, in the chapter, “Feuerbach’s Doctrine of the Humanity of the Divine in The Essence of Christianity,” Stewart presents Feuerbach not only in contraposition to Hegel but also accentuates the Hegelian influence in Feuerbach’s philosophy. He claims that the aim of Feuerbach’s critique of Christianity is not the destruction of religion, but the liberation of humanity from idolatry.