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But like the desire for eternal life, the desire for omniscience and absolute perfection is merely an imaginary desire; and, as history and daily experience prove, the supposed human striving for unlimited knowledge and perfection is a myth. Man has no desire to know everything; he only wants to know the things to which he is particularly drawn.

— Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach Lectures on the Essence of Religion (1851)

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More quotes by Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach

To theology, … only what it holds sacred is true, whereas to philosophy, only what holds true is sacred.

Lectures on the Essence of Religion (1851)

The first philosophers were astronomers. The heavens remind man … that he is destined not merely to act, but also to contemplate.

The Essence of Christianity (1841)

The power of thought is the light of knowledge, the power of will is the energy of character, the power of heart is love. Reason, love and power of will are perfections of man.

The Essence of Christianity (1841)

The history of philosophical system is the picture gallery of reason.

Towards a Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy (1839)

God is for man the commonplace book where he registers his highest feelings and thoughts, the genealogical album into which he enters the names of the things most dear and sacred to him.

The Essence of Christianity (1843)

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