Nature, coexistence and life

An incursion into the perspectives of Ludwig Feuerbach and Emanuele Coccia

Abstract

The German philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach (1804 – 1872), when discussing the human connection to reality, relied on materialism combined with a concern for nature to ground human existence through physiology. He argued that hunger, thirst, and lack of adequate air are elements that impose barriers to the construction of a healthy human being and, thus, are responsible for the lack of nutrients necessary for the individual’s proper functioning. However, another perspective on the relationship between nature and the individual is that of Emanuele Coccia. For him, life occurs in a cosmic symbiosis where each existence is of equal importance to the construction of reality itself. Through a philosophy centered on the reality of plants, the author demonstrates the structuring of a reality that is only possible through universal mutualism. Here, we will seek to present the perspectives of Coccia and Feuerbach together, thus seeking to expand the possibilities of the relationship between humans and the cosmic totality of nature.