p Dialectical materialism understands truth as that knowledge of an object which correctly reflects this object, i.e., corresponds to it. For example, the scientific propositions that “bodies consist of atoms”, that the “Earth existed prior to man”, that “the people are the makers of history”, etc., are true.

p On what does truth depend? Does it depend on man, in whose mind this truth arises, or on the object it reflects?

p Idealists hold that truth is subjective, that it depends on man who himself determines the truth of his knowledge 164 without regard for the real state of affairs.

p In contrast to idealism, dialectical materialism, relying on scientific discoveries and man’s age-long practical experience, maintains that truth is objective. Since truth reflects the objectively existing world, its content does not depend on man’s consciousness. Objective truth, Lenin wrote, is the content of our knowledge which depends neither on man nor on mankind. The content of truth is fully determined by the objective processes it reflects.

Let us consider, for example, the statement: “The Earth is shaped like a sphere.” This assertion is true inasmuch as it corresponds to reality. But does the shape of the Earth depend on man’s cbnsciousness? Not in the least; the Earth existed long before man, and its spherical form was shaped by natural forces. Examining any other truth, we arrive at a similar conclusion.