47 pages • 1 hour read
Karl Marx, Friedrich EngelsThe German Ideology
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1932A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Theses on FeuerbachChapter Summaries & Analyses
“Theses on Feuerbach” Summary
The German Ideology concludes with two versions of the “Theses on Feuerbach,” the first written solely by Marx and the second edited by Engels. The theses consist of 11 main points that Marx used to write the chapter on Feuerbach in Volume 1.
“Theses on Feuerbach” Analysis
The first thesis rejects all existing idealism and materialism. In doing so, Marx clearly indicates that while historical materialism draws from materialist philosophies, it is a distinct method. Historical materialism considers the role of the human subject in shaping and transforming the physical world. The short piece is best known for the last thesis, which includes Marx’s famous maxim, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it” (574). With this phrase, Marx clearly signals his belief that scholarship must engage with the lived experience of people and contribute to social, political, and economic change.
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