p Man is surrounded by an infinite number of the most diverse bodies. These include both bodies of inorganic nature—from infinitesimal particles of the atom to huge cosmic bodies, and living organisms—from the simplest to the most complex. Some are next to us: we live amidst them and constantly feel their presence, while others are removed from us by extremely great distances. Some we see with the naked eye, but to observe others we have to use the most sophisticated instruments and equipment. These bodies possess the most diverse properties, qualities and features.

p Amazed by the diversity of the world, man long ago pondered the possibility of all the surrounding bodies stemming from a single basis and having similar features.

p Gradually, man’s practical activities and the development of science have convinced him that however much objects and phenomena differ, however diverse their properties, they are all material and exist outside and independent of his consciousness. Natural sciences have indisputably proved that the Earth had existed many millions of years before man and living organisms in general appeared on it. This 39 signifies that matter, nature is objective and independent of man and his consciousness, and that consciousness itself is merely a product of the long evolution of the material world.

p The philosophical concept, or category, of matter expresses the general property of objects and phenomena, which consists in their being objective reality, existing outside of man’s consciousness and reflected in his consciousness.

p Recognition of the objectivity of the world around us and recognition of the ability of the human mind to cognise this world constitute the basic principles of the dialecticalmaterialist world outlook. This means that the concept of matter, reflecting these cardinal principles, is the most important, pivotal category of dialectical materialism.

p The category of matter is an extremely broad concept, encompassing not a separate object or process, not a group of objects and phenomena, but all of objective reality. Abstracting itself from the given distinctions, properties and sides of separate objects, from their concrete connections and interaction, this concept expresses the common, main thing in all these objects, namely, objectivity, i.e., their existence independent of man’s consciousness. The concept of matter not only gives an idea of the general properties of the objective world as such; it is also a primary category of knowledge. Pointing to man’s ability to cognise the world and indicating the source of our knowledge, it also provides the basis for solving major problems of the theory of knowledge of dialectical materialism.

p The concept of matter is also of great importance for the other sciences, particularly natural science. Any science would be reduced to a meaningless exercise of the human mind if it did not study one or another aspect of objective reality.

p A truly scientific, all-embracing definition of matter was given by Lenin in his book Materialism and Empirio-Criticism. “Matter is a philosophical category,” he wrote, “denoting the objective reality which is given to man by his sensations, and which is copied, photographed and reflected by our sensations, while existing independently of them.”  [39•* 

p It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the Lenin’s definition of matter. Summing up mankind’s experience over the centuries, it gives people a correct understanding of the world around them, teaches them to proceed in their practical work and theoretical studies from reality itself, from the objective material conditions and not from arbitrary, subjective ideas. Asserting that the world is knowable, it opens up boundless vistas to human reason, stimulates the mind and helps man penetrate the deepest secrets of the world.

p Lenin’s definition of matter reflects the fundamental contrast of materialism to idealism and agnosticism. It also has a deep atheistic meaning. Indeed, if matter is primary and eternal, it is Uncreatable and indestructible, it is the inner final cause of everything existing. In a world where matter is the primary cause, the primary foundation of everything, there is room neither for God nor any other supernatural forces.

p That is why idealists and the clergy have always bitterly fought against recognition of matter. Idealists of the past, from Plato to Berkeley, engaged in “destroying” the concept of matter, while Machists  [40•*  even launched a crusade against it. Today there are numerous idealists and revisionists who continue the battle. The purpose of the attacks on the concept of matter has been to undermine the fundamental concept of materialism, to drive matter out of philosophy and science, and thereby clear the way for idealism, agnosticism and religion.

These attacks, however, are absolutely pointless. Scientific progress and all man’s practical experience conclusively prove that matter does exist as objective reality and that it is infinite and eternal. All things, objects and processes are merely manifestations or forms of matter in motion. That is why the world around us is a single material world. But the forms of matter, as we can see from personal experience and scientific discoveries, are diverse. This signifies that the material world is a unity of diversity. In the material world 41 there is not a single thing, however minute, which can arise out of nothing or disappear without trace. The destruction of one thing gives rise to another and this to a third, and so on ad infinitum. Concrete things change, they are transformed one into another, but matter neither disappears nor is created anew in the process.