The German Ideology and Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy( hereinafter referred to as Feuerbach Thesis) share a common theme of systematic exposition of historical materialism. Both works take the critique of German idealism as their starting point, and both take as their theoretical aim to reveal why human history is a history of production-labor, but they each have their own focus. First, in its direct critique of German idealism, The German Ideology focuses on the unreality of German idealism and the determined nature of its logical premises, while Feuerbach Thesis systematically explores the logical paradoxes of German idealism and how idealism and materialism change their forms in response to the development of the productive forces. Second, in the critique of why Feuerbach’s humanistic materialism falls into idealism, The German Ideology only points out that Feuerbach did not regard human beings as “perceptual activities”, while Feuerbach Thesis discusses in detail the logical reasoning and abstraction of his philosophy of religion and ethics. Third, in terms of the systematic elaboration of the theoretical logic of historical materialism, The German Ideology clarifies the premises, processes, dynamics, and subjects of history and the realization paths to their goals, while Feuerbach Thesis further reveals the economic roots of the continuous changes in various fields of the superstructure, especially the development of ideas from German idealism to historical materialism. Strengthening the comparative study of these two works is of great significance for revealing the ideological development of historical materialism.

Editor: Zhong Yao、Zheng Yifan

From:Studies on Marxism.2022.No.8.