You’re not wrong insomuch as Lenin did define matter as an objective reality independent of our sensations ( CW 14 , 130), and therefore was not metaphysical in a speculative sense. But the key point is methodological. Lenin treated this definition as a doctrinal anchor for science, whereas Frank deliberately avoided grounding science in such philosophical categories, treating “objective reality” instrumentally and empirically. In Marxist terms, Frank’s approach resembled the approach that Marx had recommended in Theses on Feuerbach §1–3. Theory must engage with material practice, not prescribe it a priori. The debate between Lenin and Frank thus turns on the role of philosophy in science—whether it asserts metaphysical guarantees or facilitates empirically testable, socially situated knowledge. Frank’s anti-Kantian, anti-apriorist stance ensures that scientific objectivity is achieved through practice and collective verification rather than through imposed philosophical categories.
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