Schopenhauer and Feuerbach both shifted focus to the concrete, sensuous human being

 While Arthur Schopenhauer and Ludwig Feuerbach are often polarized as philosophers of "pessimism" and "optimism" respectively, they share significant common ground in their rebellion against 19th-century academic philosophy. 

Key similarities include:

• Critique of German Idealism: Both philosophers rejected the abstract, transcendental idealism of Hegel. Feuerbach sought to pull philosophy down from "divine blissfulness" to human misery, while Schopenhauer dismissed Hegelianism as "rational mysticism".
• Emphasis on Sensation and the Body: They both shifted focus to the concrete, sensuous human being. Feuerbach argued that "to be embodied is to be in the world," and Schopenhauer's entire system was built on the "Will" as an immediate, bodily experience rather than abstract thought.
• Atheism and Critique of Religion: Both were prominent 19th-century atheists. Feuerbach famously argued that God is a projection of human nature (anthropology turned into religion), while Schopenhauer viewed religious systems as "popular metaphysics" meant to help people cope with the "blind Will".
• Human-Centered Philosophy: Both believed that the proper object of study was man and nature. They emphasized the individual's practical and existential needs over the metaphysical "Absolute".
• Influence on the "Masters of Suspicion": Their combined focus on human psychological drives and the critique of institutional religion laid the groundwork for later thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and Sigmund Freud. - GoogleAI
• Collated by Tusar Nath Mohapatra