In other words, absolute knowledge is realized in a series of relative errors, through the unending history of man's social practice. These points are just as powerful today against dualists of the postmodern type as they were against the subjectivists and relativists of Lenin's day. As materialists, as Marxists, we assert that there may be unanswered questions about consciousness, but there is no unanswerable question. Consciousness is a highly evolved reflection of matter in motion. Man is a part of nature, its highest product.
Nature is reflected in the human brain.
Protoplasm stimulation and protoplasm response are to be found wherever there is living protoplasm. Marxism has always held the position that consciousness is a property of matter, follows the laws of nature and, therefore, can be understood scientifically. To the extent that dialectical materialism has been ignored or rejected by modern scientists and philosophers, largely due to the prevailing political climate, they are highly handicapped in approaching these complex issues. One can only work for the situation where this will change and the superiority of dialectical materialism, man's highest philosophical expression to date of the basic laws of nature and thought, will again be demonstrated in all of natural investigation and will be utilized to resolve man's social and scientific problems. Consciousness Explained is a passionate defense of science and materialism against the prevailing bias.