The Establishment Of "Realistic Individual"-Marx's Dual Criticism And Transcendence Over Feuerbach And Stirner

Philosophers of all times have been exploring the nature of human existence since the start of the history of philosophy.They have suggested various definitions for human,each of which has distinct features of its time.Feuerbach,Stirner and Marx all tried to put an end to traditional metaphysics,and free people from the limitations of abstract thinking.Feuerbach took "class" as human's essential nature which had shaken the foundation of religious and theological speculation building and pulled human back to "earth" from "heaven".He focused only on universal nature of "class" that human possess,yet failed to make strict distinction between individuals and universal "class",resulting in the abstract nature of Feuerbach's definition of human.Stirner took "Single Person" as the essential nature of all natures,rejecting any universal definition of human.He fiercely attacked Feuerbach's theory and considered his "class" as a synonym of "god".Stirner's "Single Person" stresses the absolute freedom of "me",rejecting any authority that is above "me",such as state,law,etc.Stiner focused too much on the free development of personal characteristics,resulting in the isolation of individuals.Marx found out a new path to eliminate exhaustion and end the arguments over the nature of human existence.Based on the sublation of Feuerbach's and Stirner's ideas,he proposed the concept of "realistic individual",which put human in the dialectical space between universal real society and the full use of individual initiative.During the establishment of "realistic individual",Feuerbach's and Stirner's theories played an important role.It is safe to say that Feuerbach and Stirner were indispensable links in the development of Marx's thoughts.Academic circles gave Feuerbach most of the credit,but failed to pay enough attention to Stirner.Stirner was the first to publicly criticize Feuerbach and his "single person" theory was like a sudden tsunami,swallowing the relics of religious theology and the newly built mansion of humanism.Feuerbach,the rising star who led the Young Hegelians,was eclipsed by the theory of "single person",which may have its fatal flaws yet still could be valuable in the perspective of criticism over the logic of thoughts.Based on the thoughts of Feuerbach,Stirner and Marx,the author raises the academic status of Stirner to that of Feuerbach.She also tries to discuss the influence of Stirner on the establishment of Marx's "realistic individual" and explains the dual criticism and transcendence made by Marx over Feuerbach's and Stirner's ideas.