Materialism and Empirio-criticism

Methodology and Conclusions

In the book «Materialism and Empirio-criticism», Vladimir Ilyich Lenin employs a methodology of critical analysis of philosophical concepts, particularly those related to empiriocriticism and Machism. Lenin meticulously examines the works of philosophers such as Ernst Mach and Richard Avenarius, contrasting their ideas with a materialist worldview. He analyzes the main tenets of empiriocriticism, such as the denial of objective reality and the assertion that the world is merely a complex of sensations. Lenin critiques these ideas, arguing that they lead to subjective idealism and agnosticism. In his conclusions, Lenin defends materialist philosophy, emphasizing that matter exists independently of human consciousness and that science must be based on objective reality. He asserts that materialism is the only correct philosophical foundation for scientific knowledge and revolutionary practice. Thus, the book serves as a defense of materialism and a critique of idealistic trends in early 20th-century philosophy.