Sobre as religiões naturais em Ludwig Feuerbach

Abstract

This dissertation aims to explain natural religions, starting from its foundation and its religious object which consists of nature, which Feuerbach determines as the foundation of human existence, thus revealing a new anthropological stance that prioritizes a complete human being, based on sensitivity and in harmony with nature. Feuerbach bases his conceptions on natural religions, as they do not have a moral and subjective God as their object, but a physical materialized god, who is only present in nature and/or in its elements. In this perspective, nature is, therefore, the primitive object of religion, which, in its origin, is innate and essential to man, since it has a sense of finite and dependence and not a theological or deistic sense. The philosopher, from Landshut, explains to us the origin of religion and its essence, which leads us to a divine being to supply the need, fear, and the human egoistic instinct for self-preservation and the search for happiness. Furthermore, for a better understanding of these issues, in the research, references to the Christian religion were made in some moments, concerning nature, to contrast with natural religions, through Feuerbach's critical arguments, which show us how religion interferes in human life both positively and negatively. Thus, for the development of our theme, bibliographical research was done, mainly immanent in the author's mature works: The Essence of Religion (1846) and Lectures on the Essence of Religion (1851). Finally, we realize that Feuerbach's thinking, based on natural religions, offers a great contribution to thinking about religion, man, and nature today.