Of the variety of forms of existence, philosophers have always focused on two: material and ideal. Of course, for philosophy the most interesting subject of study is man. Philosophers show the specifics of human existence through the opposition of consciousness, spirit and matter. The concept of “matter”, apparently, was born from the desire to reveal the original unity of everything that exists in the world, to reduce all the diversity of things and phenomena to some common, initial basis.
From the history of philosophy, we remember that the ancient Greeks successively claimed the role of such a fundamental principle of the world: water (Thales), air (Anaximenes), the boundless primal substance “apeiron” (Anaximander), eternal living fire (Heraclitus), all 4 elements (Empedocles), the smallest indivisible atoms (Democritus), Plato’s “eidos” can be listed endlessly. Democritus was the most successful of all.
So, what is matter?
The category “matter” denotes objective reality. This is all that exists outside of human consciousness and independently of it. In the definition of matter, the main question of philosophy about the relationship between matter and consciousness is resolved. Materialists believe that it is primary in relation to consciousness, and idealists believe exactly the opposite.
Philosophical understanding of matter.
Matter (from Latin materia - substance) is a philosophical category to designate physical substance in general, as opposed to consciousness or spirit. In materialistic philosophy, the category “matter” denotes a substance that has the status of a primary principle in relation to consciousness. Matter is reflected by our sensations, existing independently of them (objectively).
The attributes of matter, the universal forms of its existence, are movement, space and time, which do not exist outside of matter. In the same way, there cannot be material objects that do not have spatiotemporal properties.
Like matter, space and time are objective, independent of consciousness.
Space is a form of existence of matter, characterizing its extension, coexistence and interaction of material bodies in all systems.
Time is a form of existence of matter, expressing the duration of its existence, the sequence of changes in the states of all material systems.
Time and space have general properties. These include:
Objectivity and independence from human consciousness;
Their absoluteness as attributes of matter;
An inextricable connection with each other and the movement;
The unity of the discontinuous and the continuous in their structure;
Dependence on development processes and structural changes in material systems;
Quantitative and qualitative infinity
The universal properties of matter are:
The increasability and indestructibility of matter means that the objective world is self-sufficient, i.e., no additional forces are needed for its existence. No one created matter and no one can destroy matter.
The eternity of existence in time and infinity in space means that matter has always been and will always be, that matter has no beginning and no end.
Matter is always characterized by movement and change, self-development, the transformation of one state into another. By movement I understand not only mechanical movement in space, but also physical and chemical transformations, biological processes, etc. The transition of matter from one form of existence to another (matter-field) is also movement.
Determinism (causality) is the dependence of phenomena and objects on structural connections in material systems and external influences, on the causes and conditions that give rise to them. Nothing in the material world happens just like that, by chance. Everything is subject to certain laws and the subsequent develops from the previous.
The uniqueness of matter means that in the objective world there are no two identical objects. Any material object is individual, be it an atom or the universe. In other words, in the material world it is impossible for one object to exist at different points in the universe.
The term "matter" No universal definition, which all scientists would recognize. Usually this is a general term for everything that fills the environment around us. real world– on Earth, in space, in ourselves and in society.
Matter exists objectively, that is, independently of us and our consciousness, but the senses and mind allow people to perceive and cognize matter.
Is there anything at all in the world other than matter?
Of course have! In addition to material ones, there are a great many other objects in the world - mental and spiritual. These are our thoughts, emotions, memories, dreams, desires and more.
True, sages and scientists have been arguing for thousands of years whether all this can arise and exist without matter.
What is the main property of matter?
These are constant changes. Material objects move in space all the time and change over time.
Even if a person sleeps, organs and fluids move in his body, some substances turn into others. Constant change occurs in all communities - from small families to entire nations. Atoms also move in inanimate objects.
Celestial bodies change their location chemical composition and can disappear altogether, turn into something else. Huge mountains change their shape, substances move inside them. 
The symbol of stability is the earth's firmament, and it restlessly tosses and turns on the ocean of liquid magma that supports it. Europe sails away North America at a rate of 2 centimeters per year. And our planet itself, as you know, rotates, changes on the surface and from the inside.
Where did matter come from?
Most scientists adhere to the theory big bang. According to this model, 13–14 billion years ago the entire Universe was concentrated in a tiny volume and had an unimaginably enormous density and high temperature. This point exploded and began to expand sharply (it is unknown why).
Elementary particles were formed, from them atoms, from atoms - stars, planets and in general everything that forms the Universe. Whether matter existed before the Big Bang is unknown.
Are there places in the world that are free from matter?
Some parts of space seem “empty” to us, but in fact they are always occupied by one form or another of matter. There are two types of it - matter and field. Matter consists of particles and can be in a solid, liquid, gaseous or plasma state. 
There are voids between the accumulations of matter, but they are always completely filled with fields - electromagnetic or gravitational.
What is antimatter?
This is the name for a substance made of antiparticles - they have the same mass as ordinary ones, but their charges and other characteristics are directly opposite to ordinary ones. Almost every “normal” elementary particle has such a “double”. But a substance consisting of “doubles” has not yet been found either on Earth or in space. Perhaps everything consists of ordinary matter.
Physicists manage to obtain antimatter artificially - in microscopic quantities and not for long (it decays). By the way, this is the most expensive substance on earth: 1 gram of antihydrogen would cost over 60,000,000,000,000 (60 trillion) dollars.
Is there a lot of writing about dark matter these days? What is known about her?
Almost nothing. Moreover: there is no certainty that it exists. It’s just that astronomers have some inconsistencies in their calculations. So, in the 1930s, the speed of movement of one cluster of galaxies was measured, and it turned out to be much greater than expected from the estimate of its mass. 
Subsequent data also showed that something was wrong with the calculations of the mass of the Universe. We had to assume that there was “something” that made up most of the mass of the Universe. This “something” is invisible to the eye, transparent to electromagnetic waves and is not detected by any means at all. The invisibility has been called dark matter; its manifestations are being intensively sought, but so far to no avail.
From the position of materialism, it is primary relative to consciousness.
From the position of idealism, matter is an arbitrary formation from a spiritual substance. For subjective idealism, matter is a constant possibility of sensation.
There are three concepts of matter:
1. Substantial: matter is determined through things. This concept is implemented by ancient Greek philosophers (Democritus). They understood matter through substance.
2. Attributive: matter was defined through properties, through primary qualities (mass, size) and through subjective properties, i.e. through secondary qualities (taste, color).
3. Dialectical-materialistic: matter is defined through its relationship with consciousness. Representatives of this concept are Marx and Lenin. Matter is a philosophical category to designate a reality that exists independently of our consciousness and which is copied by our senses. This definition eliminates the contradictions between philosophy and science. This concept arose at the end of the 19th century along with the breakthrough of scientific knowledge.
With the discovery of the electron came the collapse of materialism. Matter includes not only substances, but also fields. The main properties of matter are:
· Objectivity.
· Cognizability.
· Structurality.
· Substantiality.
Matter exists through discrete material structures; matter does not exist at all. The most important properties Matters are attributes. The main attribute of matter is movement. Movement is a way of existence of matter. Key Features movements:
· Universality.
Versatility
· Objectivity.
· Absoluteness (no things are immovable).
· Inconsistency (movement is the unity of stability and variability, stability is relative, and variability is absolute).
For Aristotle, motion was external to matter. Matter is a self-moving reality. In the non-materialistic concept, movement is understood as a manifestation of the objective spirit.
Attributes of matter:
1. Movement exists in 3 forms.
2. Space and time.
The movement exists for three reasons:
A. By carrier
b. By interaction.
V. According to the laws.
There are three main forms of matter motion:
1. social
2. biological (carriers – cell, organism)
3. chemical (carrier - molecule)
4. physical (vacuum, fields, elementary particles, atoms, molecules, macrobodies, planets, galaxies, etc.; at all of the above levels there are forms of interaction: for example, intermolecular interaction).
The forms of motion of matter are connected by cause-and-effect relationships, a higher form is based on lower forms.
In philosophy, in understanding reality, there is a mechanism approach - the reduction of all the laws of the world to the principles of mechanics, the interpretation of a higher reality from the position of a lower reality.
Let's consider other attributes of matter - space and time. It is necessary to distinguish between real, triceptive and conceptual space and time.
Space is a form of existence of matter that characterizes its structure. Time is a form of existence of matter that expresses the duration of its existence. IN various forms the movements of matter and temporal characteristics are ambiguous: social, biological, chemical and physical space, time.
Matter
The concretization of the concept of “being” is carried out, first of all, in the concept of “matter”. It is clear that the problems of matter, including its concept, were developed primarily by materialist philosophers from ancient to modern. The most complete and profound development of these problems is contained in the works of modern materialists. In materialist philosophy, “matter” acts as the most general, fundamental category in which the material unity of the world is fixed; various forms of being are considered as generated by matter in the course of its movement and development. The definition of the concept of “matter” was given by V.I. Lenin in his work “Materialism and Empirio-criticism” (1909).
“Matter,” wrote Lenin, “is a philosophical category to designate objective reality, which is given to man in his sensations, which is copied, photographed, displayed by our sensations, existing independently of them.”
Let's take a closer look at this definition. The category “matter” denotes objective reality. But what does “objective reality” mean? This is all that exists outside of human consciousness and independently of it. So, the main property of the world, fixed with the help of the category “matter,” is its independent existence, independent of man and knowledge. The definition of matter essentially resolves the main question of philosophy, the question of the relationship between matter and consciousness. And at the same time the priority of matter is affirmed. It is primary in relation to consciousness. Primary in time, because consciousness arose relatively recently, and matter exists forever; It is also primary in the sense that consciousness is a historically emerging property of highly organized matter, a property that appears in socially developed people.
Matter is primary as the object of reflection is primary in relation to its reflection, as the model is primary in relation to its copy. But we know that the main question of philosophy also has a second side. This is the question of how thoughts about the world relate to this world itself, the question of whether the world is knowable. In the definition of matter we find the answer to this question. Yes, the world is knowable. Lenin in his definition focuses on sensations as the primary source of knowledge. This is due to the fact that in the named work Lenin criticizes empirio-criticism, a philosophy for which the problem of sensation was of particular importance. Although, in essence, we are talking about the problem of the cognizability of the world, the cognizability of matter. Therefore, we can give a shorter definition of matter: matter is a knowable objective reality.
Of course, such a definition is very general and does not indicate any other properties of matter other than its existence outside and independent of consciousness, as well as its cognition. However, we have the right to talk about some properties of matter that have the nature of attributes, that is, properties that are always and everywhere inherent in both all matter and any material objects. These are space, time and movement. Since all things exist in space, move in space, and at the same time the very existence of a person and the things around him takes place in time, the concepts of “space” and “time” were formulated and used quite a long time ago.
The categories “space” and “time” are among the fundamental philosophical and general scientific categories. And naturally, they are such primarily because they reflect and express the most general state of being.
Time characterizes, first of all, the presence or absence of existence of certain objects. There was a time when I, writing these lines (as well as you, dear reader), simply did not exist. Now we are. But the time will come when you and I will not be there. The sequence of states: non-existence – existence – non-existence is fixed by the category of time. The other side of existence is the simultaneous existence of different objects (in our simple example this is mine and yours, reader), as well as their simultaneous non-existence. Time also fixes the relative periods of existence, so that for some objects it can be greater (longer), and for others it can be smaller (shorter). In the famous parable from “The Captain’s Daughter” by A.S. Pushkin, the lifespan of a raven was determined to be three hundred years, and that of an eagle to thirty. In addition, time allows us to record periods in the development of a particular object. Childhood - adolescence - youth - adulthood - old age - all these phases in human development have their own time frame. Time is an integral part of the characteristics of all processes of existence, change, and movement of objects, without being reduced to any of these characteristics. It is this circumstance that makes it difficult to understand time as a universal form of existence.
The situation with the understanding of space is somewhat simpler if it is taken in the ordinary sense, as the container of all things and processes. More complex problems associated with the evolution of physical concepts of space and time will be considered below.
We find a philosophical analysis of the problems of space, time and motion in ancient philosophy. These problems began to be considered and discussed in more detail in science in the 17th century, in connection with the development of mechanics. At that time, mechanics analyzed the movement of macroscopic bodies, that is, those that were large enough to be seen and observed both in the natural state (for example, when describing the movement of the Moon or planets) and in experiment .
The Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was the founder of experimental-theoretical natural science.
He examined in detail the principle of relativity of motion. The movement of a body is characterized by speed, i.e., the size of the path traveled per unit of time. But in the world of moving bodies, speed turns out to be a relative quantity and dependent on the reference system. So, for example, if we are traveling in a tram and pass through the cabin from the back door to the driver’s cabin, then our speed relative to the passengers sitting in the cabin will be, for example, 4 km per hour, and relative to the houses the tram passes by, it will be will be equal to 4 km/h + tram speed, for example, 26 km/h. That is, the definition of speed is associated with a reference system or with the definition of a reference body. Under normal conditions, for us such a body of reference is the surface of the earth. But as soon as you go beyond its limits, the need arises to establish that object, that planet or that star, relative to which the speed of movement of the body is determined.
Considering the problem of determining the motion of bodies in general view, the English scientist Isaac Newton (1643-1727) followed the path of maximum abstraction of the concepts of space and time, expressing the conditions of motion. In his main work, “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (1687), he poses the question: is it possible to indicate a body in the Universe that would serve as an absolute body of reference? Newton understood that not only the Earth, as it was in the old geocentric systems of astronomy, cannot be taken as such a central, absolute body of reference, but also the Sun, as was accepted in the Copernican system, cannot be considered such. An absolute reference body cannot be specified. But Newton set the task of describing absolute motion, and not limiting himself to describing the relative speeds of motion of bodies. In order to solve such a problem, he took a step that was apparently as ingenious as it was erroneous. He put forward abstractions that had not previously been used in philosophy and physics: absolute time and absolute space.
“Absolute, true, mathematical time by itself and by its very essence, without any relation to anything external, flows uniformly and is otherwise called duration,” wrote Newton. He defined absolute space in a similar way: “Absolute space, by its very essence, regardless of anything external, always remains the same and motionless.” Newton contrasted sensory observed and recorded relative types of space and time with absolute space and time.
Of course, space and time as universal forms of existence of matter cannot be reduced to certain specific objects and their states. But one cannot separate space and time from material objects, as Newton did. A pure container of all things, existing on its own, a kind of box in which you can put the earth, planets, stars - that’s what Newton’s absolute space is. Since it is motionless, any fixed point of it can become a reference point for determining absolute motion; you just need to check your watch with absolute duration, which again exists independently of space and any things located in it. Things, material objects studied by mechanics, turned out to be adjacent to space and time. All of them in this system act as independent components that do not influence each other in any way. Cartesian physics, which identified matter and space and did not recognize emptiness and atoms as forms of existence of things, was completely rejected. Advances in explaining nature and the mathematical apparatus of new mechanics ensured Newton's ideas for a long reign, which lasted until the beginning of the 20th century.
In the 19th century rapid development of other natural sciences. In physics, great success was achieved in the field of thermodynamics, the doctrine of the electromagnetic field developed; The law of conservation and transformation of energy was formulated in general form. Chemistry progressed rapidly and a table was created chemical elements based on the periodic law. Further development got biological sciences, was created evolutionary theory Darwin. All this created the basis for overcoming previous, mechanistic ideas about movement, space and time. A number of fundamental fundamental provisions about the movement of matter, space and time were formulated in the philosophy of dialectical materialism.
In his polemics with Dühring, F. Engels defended the dialectical-materialist concept of nature. “The basic forms of being,” wrote Engels, “are space and time; being outside of time is the same greatest nonsense as being outside of space.”
In his work “Dialectics of Nature,” Engels examined in detail the problem of motion and developed a doctrine of forms of motion that corresponded to the level of development of science of that time. “Movement,” wrote Engels, “considered in the most general sense of the word, that is, understood as a way of existence of matter, as an attribute inherent in matter, embraces all the changes and processes occurring in the universe, starting from simple movement and ending with thinking.”
Engels considered simple movement in space to be the most general form of movement of matter, on top of which, as in a pyramid, other forms are built. These are physical and chemical forms of motion of matter. According to Engels, the carrier of physical form is molecules, and the carrier of chemical form is atoms. Mechanical, physical and chemical forms of motion form the foundation of a higher form of motion of matter - biological, the carrier of which is living protein. And finally, the highest form of motion of matter is social form. Its carrier is human society.
“Dialectics of Nature” was published only in the late 20s and early 30s. of our century and therefore could not influence science at the time when it was created. But methodological principles, which were used by Engels in developing the classification of forms of motion of matter, retain their significance to the present day. Firstly, Engels brings into correspondence the forms of movement and the forms or types structural organization matter. With the advent of a new type of structural organization of matter, the new kind movements. Secondly, the classification of forms of movement contains a dialectically understood principle of development. Different forms of movement are genetically related to each other; they not only coexist, but also arise from each other. At the same time, higher forms of motion include lower ones as components and conditions necessary for the emergence of a new, higher form of motion of matter. And finally, thirdly, Engels strongly objected to attempts to reduce completely qualitatively unique higher forms of movement to lower forms.
In the 17th and 18th centuries. there was a strong tendency to reduce all laws of nature to the laws of mechanics. This trend is called “mechanism.” But later the same word began to denote attempts to bring together biological and social processes, for example, to the laws of thermodynamics. With the emergence of Darwinism, sociologists appeared who were inclined to explain the phenomena of social life by one-sidedly interpreted biological laws. All these are manifestations of mechanism.
Here we are faced with contradictions inherent in the process of development of cognition, when the features inherent in one type of structural organization of matter are transferred to other types. However, it should be kept in mind that during the study different types organization of matter and different forms movement, some general, previously unknown circumstances and patterns are revealed that are characteristic of the interaction of different levels of organization of matter. As a result, theories arise that cover a wide range of objects belonging to different levels of organization of matter.
The end of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th centuries. became a time of abrupt change in ideas about the world - a time when it was overcome mechanistic picture world, which dominated natural science for two centuries.
One of major events in science was the discovery by the English physicist J. Thomson (1856-1940) of the electron - the first intra-atomic particle. Thomson studied cathode rays and found that they consist of particles with an electrical charge (negative) and very low mass. The mass of the electron, according to calculations, turned out to be more than 1800 times less than the mass of the lightest atom, the hydrogen atom. The discovery of such a small particle meant that the “indivisible” atom cannot be considered as the last “building block of the universe.” Research by physicists, on the one hand, confirmed the reality of atoms, but on the other hand, they showed that a real atom is not at all the same atom that was previously considered an indivisible chemical element, of which all are composed. known to man that time things and bodies of nature.
In fact, atoms are not simple and indivisible, but consist of some kind of particles. The electron was the first to be discovered. Thomson's first model of the atom was humorously called "raisin pudding." The pudding corresponded to a large, massive, positively charged part of the atom, while the raisins corresponded to small, negatively charged particles - electrons, which, according to Coulomb's law, were held on the surface of the “pudding” by electrical forces. And although this model was fully consistent with the ideas of physicists that existed at that time, it did not become long-lived.
Soon it was supplanted by a model that, although it contradicted the usual ideas of physicists, nevertheless corresponded to new experimental data. This is the planetary model of E. Rutherford (1871-1937). The experiments in question were carried out in connection with another fundamentally important discovery - the discovery in late XIX V. radioactivity phenomena. This phenomenon itself also indicated the complex internal structure of the atoms of chemical elements. Rutherford used bombardment of targets made of foil of different metals with a stream of ionized helium atoms. As a result, it turned out that the atom has a size of 10 to the -8 power of cm, and the heavy mass carrying a positive charge is only 10 to the power of 12 cm.
So, in 1911 Rutherford discovered atomic nucleus. In 1919, he bombarded nitrogen with alpha particles and discovered a new intra-atomic particle, the nucleus of the hydrogen atom, which he called the “proton.” Physics has entered a new world - the world of atomic particles, processes, relationships. And it immediately became clear that the laws of this world differ significantly from the laws of the macroworld we are accustomed to. In order to build a model of the hydrogen atom, it was necessary to create a new physical theory– quantum mechanics. Note that in a short historical period, physicists have discovered a large number of microparticles. By 1974, there were almost twice as many of them as the chemical elements in Mendeleev’s periodic table.
In search of the basis for the classification of such large quantity microparticles, physicists have turned to the hypothesis that the diversity of microparticles can be explained if we assume the existence of new, subnuclear particles, various combinations of which act as known microparticles. This was a hypothesis about the existence of quarks. It was expressed almost simultaneously and independently of each other in 1963 by theoretical physicists M. Gell-Mann and G. Zweig.
One of the unusual features of quarks must be that they will have a fractional (compared to the electron and proton) electric charge: either -1/3 or +2/3. The positive charge of the proton and the zero charge of the neutron are easily explained by the quark composition of these particles. True, it should be noted that physicists were unable to detect individual quarks either in experiment or in observations (in particular, astronomical ones). It was necessary to develop a theory explaining why the existence of quarks outside hadrons is now impossible.
Another fundamental discovery of the 20th century, which had a huge impact on the entire picture of the world, was the creation of the theory of relativity. In 1905, a young and unknown theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) published an article in a special physics journal under the discreet title “On the electrodynamics of moving bodies.” This article outlined the so-called special theory of relativity. Essentially, this was a new concept of space and time, and new mechanics were developed accordingly. Old, classical physics was quite consistent with practice that dealt with macrobodies moving at not very high speeds. And only studies of electromagnetic waves, fields and other types of matter associated with them forced a new look at the laws of classical mechanics.
Michelson's experiments and Lorentz's theoretical works served as the basis for a new vision of the world physical phenomena. This concerns, first of all, space and time, the fundamental concepts that determine the construction of the entire picture of the world. Einstein showed that the abstractions of absolute space and absolute time introduced by Newton should be abandoned and replaced by others. First of all, we note that the characteristics of space and time will appear differently in systems that are stationary and moving relative to each other.
So, if you measure a rocket on Earth and establish that its length is, for example, 40 meters, and then from Earth determine the size of the same rocket, but moving at high speed relative to the Earth, it turns out that the result will be less than 40 meters. And if you measure the time flowing on Earth and on a rocket, it turns out that the clock readings will be different. On a rocket moving at high speed, time, in relation to earthly time, will flow more slowly, and the slower the higher the rocket’s speed, the closer it approaches the speed of light. This entails certain relationships that, from our usual practical point of view, are paradoxical.
This is the so-called twin paradox. Let's imagine twin brothers, one of whom becomes an astronaut and goes on a long space journey, the other remains on Earth. Time passes. Spaceship returns. And between the brothers there is something like this conversation: “Hello,” says the one who remained on Earth, “I’m glad to see you, but why haven’t you changed almost at all, why are you so young, because thirty years have passed since the moment you flew away.” “Hello,” the astronaut replies, “and I’m glad to see you, but why are you so old, I’ve only been flying for five years.” So, according to the earth's clock, thirty years have passed, but according to the astronauts' clocks, only five. This means that time does not flow the same throughout the Universe; its changes depend on the interaction of moving systems. This is one of the main conclusions of the theory of relativity.
The German mathematician G. Minkowski, analyzing the theory of relativity, came to the conclusion that we should completely abandon the idea of space and time as existing characteristics of the world separately from each other. In fact, Minkowski argued, there is a single form of existence of material objects, within which space and time cannot be isolated or isolated. Therefore, we need a concept that expresses this unity. But when it came to denoting this concept with a word, a new word was not found, and then a new one was formed from the old words: “space-time.”
So, we need to get used to the fact that real physical processes occur in a single space-time. And it itself, this space-time, appears as a single four-dimensional manifold; three coordinates characterizing space and one coordinate characterizing time cannot be separated from each other. But in general, the properties of space and time are determined by the cumulative effects of some events on others. Analysis of the theory of relativity required clarification of one of the most important philosophical and physical principles– the principle of causality.
In addition, the theory of relativity encountered significant difficulties when considering the phenomenon of gravity. This phenomenon could not be explained. It took a lot of work to overcome the theoretical difficulties. By 1916, A. Einstein developed the “General Theory of Relativity!” This theory provides for a more complex structure of space-time, which turns out to be dependent on the distribution and movement of material masses. The general theory of relativity became the basis on which later they began to build models of our Universe. But more on that later.
Astronomy has traditionally played a large role in the formation of a general view of the world. The changes that took place in astronomy in the 20th century were truly revolutionary. Let us note some of these circumstances. First of all, thanks to the development of atomic physics, astronomers learned why stars shine. The discovery and study of the world of elementary particles has allowed astronomers to construct theories that reveal the process of evolution of stars, galaxies and the entire Universe. The ideas about unchanging stars that existed for thousands of years are forever lost in history. The developing Universe is the world of modern astronomy. The point here is not only in the general philosophical principles of development, but also in the fundamental facts that were revealed to humanity in the 20th century, in the creation of new general physical theories, primarily the general theory of relativity, in new instruments and new observation possibilities (radio astronomy, extraterrestrial astronomy) and, finally, , is that humanity has taken its first steps into outer space.
Based on the general theory of relativity, models of our Universe began to be developed. The first such model was created in 1917 by Einstein himself. However, this model was later shown to have shortcomings and was abandoned. Soon the Russian scientist A. A. Friedman (1888-1925) proposed a model of the expanding Universe. Einstein initially rejected this model because he believed it contained faulty calculations. But later he admitted that Friedman’s model as a whole is quite well founded.
In 1929, the American astronomer E. Hubble (1889-1953) discovered the presence of the so-called red shift in the spectra of galaxies and formulated a law that allows one to determine the speed of motion of galaxies relative to the Earth and the distance to these galaxies. Thus, it turned out that the spiral nebula in the constellation Andromeda is a galaxy whose characteristics are close to the one in which our Solar system is located, and the distance to it is relatively small, only 2 million light years.
In 1960, the spectrum of a radio galaxy was obtained and analyzed, which, as it turned out, is moving away from us at a speed of 138 thousand kilometers per second and is located at a distance of 5 billion light years. The study of galaxies led to the conclusion that we live in a world of expanding galaxies, and some joker, apparently remembering Thomson's model, proposed an analogy with a raisin pie that is in the oven and slowly expands, so that each raisin -the galaxy moves away from all others. However, today such an analogy can no longer be accepted, since computer analysis of the results of observations of galaxies leads to the conclusion that in the part of the Universe known to us, galaxies form some kind of network or cellular structure. Moreover, the distribution and densities of galaxies in space differ significantly from the distributions and densities of stars inside galaxies. So, apparently, both galaxies and their systems should be considered different levels of structural organization of matter.
Analysis of the internal mutual connection between the world of “elementary” particles and the structure of the Universe directed the thoughts of researchers along this path: “What would happen if certain properties of elementary particles differed from those observed?” Many models of Universes have appeared, but it seems that they all turned out to be the same in one thing - in such Universes there are no conditions for living things, similar to the world of living, biological creatures that we observe on Earth and to which we ourselves belong.
The hypothesis of an “anthropic” Universe arose. This is our Universe, the successive stages of development of which turned out to be such that the prerequisites were created for the emergence of living things. Thus, astronomy in the second half of the 20th century. encourages us to look at ourselves as a product of the multibillion-year development of our Universe. Our world is the best of all worlds, but not because, according to the Bible. God created it this way and saw for himself that it was good, but because in it such relationships were formed within the systems of material bodies, such laws of their interaction and development that in certain parts of this world conditions could have developed for the emergence of life, man and mind. At the same time, a number of events in the history of the Earth and solar system can be assessed as “happy accidents”.
American astronomer Carl Sagan proposed a visual model of the development of the Universe over time, oriented towards humans. He proposed to consider the entire existence of the Universe as one ordinary earthly year. Then 1 second of a cosmic year will be equal to 500 years, and the entire year will be equal to 15 billion earth years. It all starts with the Big Bang, which is what astronomers call the moment when the history of our Universe began.
So, according to Sagan’s model, out of a whole year of the development of the Universe, our human history accounts for only about an hour and a half. Of course, the question immediately arises about other “lives”, about other places in the Universe where life, this special form of organization of matter, could exist.
The problem of life in the Universe is most fully posed and discussed in the book of the Russian scientist I. S. Shklovsky (1916-1985) “The Universe. Life. Mind,” the sixth edition of which was in 1987. Most researchers, both natural scientists and philosophers, believe that in our Galaxy and in other galaxies there are many oases of life, that there are numerous extraterrestrial civilizations. And, naturally, before the advent of a new era in astronomy, before the beginning of the space age on Earth, many considered the nearest planets of the solar system to be inhabited. Mars and Venus. However, neither the devices sent to these planets nor the American astronauts who landed on the Moon found any signs of life on these celestial bodies.
So the planet should be considered the only inhabited planet in the solar system. Looking at the closest stars to us within a radius of about 16 light years, which may have planetary systems that meet some general criteria for the possibility of life arising on them, astronomers have identified only three stars near which there may be such planetary systems. In 1976, I. S. Shklovsky published an article that was clearly sensational in its focus: “On the possible uniqueness of intelligent life in the Universe.” Most astronomers, physicists and philosophers do not agree with this hypothesis. But for last years no facts appeared to refute it, and at the same time, it was not possible to detect any traces of extraterrestrial civilizations. Except that sometimes “eyewitness accounts” appear in newspapers who have established direct contact with aliens from outer space. But this “evidence” cannot be taken seriously.
The philosophical principle of the material unity of the world underlies the idea of the unity of physical laws operating in our Universe. This encourages us to look for such fundamental connections through which the variety of physical phenomena and processes observed in experience could be derived. Soon after the creation of the general theory of relativity, Einstein set himself the task of unifying electromagnetic phenomena and gravity on some unified basis. The problem turned out to be so difficult that Einstein did not have enough time to solve it throughout the rest of his life. The problem was further complicated by the fact that during the study of the microworld, new, previously unknown relationships and interactions were revealed.
So a modern physicist has to solve the problem of combining four types of interactions: strong, due to which nucleons are pulled together into an atomic nucleus; electromagnetic, repelling like charges (or attracting unlike ones); weak, registered in the processes of radioactivity, and, finally, gravitational, which determines the interaction of gravitating masses. The strengths of these interactions are significantly different. If we take strong as one, then electromagnetic will be 10 to the power of -2, weak - 10 to the power of -5. and gravitational – 10 to the power of -39.
Back in 1919, a German physicist suggested to Einstein that he introduce the fifth dimension to unify gravity and electromagnetism. In this case, it turned out that the equations that described the five-dimensional space coincided with Maxwell’s equations that described the electromagnetic field. But Einstein did not accept this idea, believing that the real physical world was four-dimensional.
However, the difficulties that physicists face in solving the problem of unifying the four types of interaction force them to return to the idea of space-time of higher dimensions. Both in the 70s and 80s. Theoretical physicists turned to calculating such space-time. It was shown that at the initial moment of time (defined by an unimaginably small value - 10 to the power of -43 s from the beginning of the Big Bang), the fifth dimension was localized in a region of space that is impossible to visualize, since the radius of this region is defined as 10 to the power of -33 cm.
Currently, at the Institute of Graduate Studies in Princeton (USA), where Einstein lived in the last years of his life, a young professor, Edward Whitten, works, who created a theory that overcomes serious theoretical difficulties that quantum theory and general theory relativity. He managed to do this by adding… six more dimensions to the known and observable four-dimensional space-time.
Plato. In Plato's philosophy, a large role was played by the idea of the “world of ideas”, contrasted with the “world of things” and preceding it. From Plato's point of view, matter is the substratum of things. Thus, along with the concept of matter, the opposition of the material to the ideal was born.
Paradoxically, the philosopher who introduced the concept of matter was an idealist - he considered the ideal to be primary in relation to matter. But there were also materialist philosophers in antiquity - in particular, Democritus. He not only declared matter to be the only existing reality, but also thought about its structure. According to Democritus, matter consists of atoms - the smallest indivisible particles. This philosophical trend, which considers matter as the only reality, is called materialism.
Aristotle viewed matter as an eternal, uncreated and indestructible substance. Matter itself is only a potential existence; it becomes real only when combined with form. This idea of matter was inherited by the philosophy of the Middle Ages.
Ideas about matter in the philosophy of modern times are very diverse. From the point of view of sensationalism, matter is everything that affects the senses. T. Hobbes distinguishes between matter correlated with form (body) and “matter without form.” Some idealist philosophers - in particular, J. Berkeley - deny the existence of matter. From the point of view of Enlightenment philosophy, matter exists, manifesting itself in specific objects and phenomena.
At the beginning of the 20th century, when scientific discoveries forced to radically reconsider the ideas about matter that existed for many years within the framework of classical physics, many idealistic theories arise based on reasoning about the “disappearance of matter”: if ideas about the nature of matter can change so radically, it means that matter as such does not exist. These concepts were opposed by dialectical materialism. According to this concept, matter is eternal, infinite and inexhaustible; it is not matter itself that can disappear, but only the limit of human knowledge about it.
Within the framework of dialectical materialism, a definition of matter was born, formulated by V.I. Lenin: “Objective reality that exists independently of our consciousness and is given to us in sensations.” This definition cannot be called flawless, because not all levels of the organization of matter are accessible to sensations - for example, they do not operate at the atomic level.
Modern philosophy views matter as an objective reality that exists in two forms - substance and field. Fundamental Properties matter - space, time and movement. Movement refers to all the variety of changes. There are five forms of movement of matter: physical movement, chemical, mechanical, biological and social. Neither of these forms can be reduced to the other. For example, uprisings and wars can be explained in terms of social patterns, but not biological ones.
In ancient times, matter in philosophy was identified with the substance from which surrounding objects are made. It is not for nothing that Aristotle in his Metaphysics, summarizing the achievements of previous years, wrote that most thinkers of an earlier era considered a specific substance to be the beginning of everything. It could be stone, water, earth, wood, fire or clay and so on. They believed that all bodies were made from this primary substance. Moreover, when objects die, they will turn into this original substance. Aristotle called this substance the material principle. He considered its main property to be that the essence of things changes in its manifestations, but remains the same. This was the first time matter was characterized in the history of philosophy.
Is this a substance?
Due to the fact that the thinkers of the ancient world raised the question of whether the substance from which all bodies are composed is the primary principle, they simultaneously raised the problem of who created or gave birth to it. In this regard, the theory of the substantiality of matter arose. That is, if through it all diverse things exist, then how did it itself arise? 
In the Middle Ages, matter was considered not a substance, but a lower manifestation of spiritual nature. Every object was then considered to be a unity of form and the substance from which it was made. Only with the advent of modern times the concept of matter in philosophy acquired a new meaning. Benedict Spinoza very clearly defined it as a substance identical to nature, which develops independently, without any external cause. A little later, the English philosopher Berkeley sharply opposed this understanding of matter. He believed that such a substance simply could not exist. We are not even dealing with specific things, but with their perception by our senses. Thus, we do not encounter matter anywhere - it is a figment of human imagination.
Definition
However, in the era of modern times and the Enlightenment, this problem became extremely fashionable and relevant. The concept of matter in philosophy, which is close to the current one, was introduced by Rene Descartes. He defines it. Descartes calls matter the substance of self-existent being. Its main attribute is length. In addition, it also has specific properties - to occupy some space, have volume and be three-dimensional. Isaac Newton made a great contribution to the development of this concept. He expanded Descartes' definition of substance and expressed ideas about what the properties of matter are in philosophy. He suggested that it has three more attributes - extension, impenetrability (that is, the inviolable unity of the body), then inertia (passivity, the inability to independently change speed, according to the laws of dynamics, as well as weight due to gravity). Newton later developed his teaching. He combined inertia and weight into the concept of mass. He also considered the latter an attribute of matter, as well as a measure of its quantity.
Age of Enlightenment
This period in history was also favorable for the development of an understanding of materiality and substantiality. The category of matter in the philosophy of the Enlightenment was developed by many thinkers, but the most successful definition is given by Paul Holbach. He writes that this is the name for everything that can be known through sensations. Manifestations of matter are the basis of sensory knowledge. Such a source can be sensations of shape, color, taste, sound, and the like. We can say that Holbach brought the understanding of matter to an epistemological generalization. At the same time, during this period the philosophical concept of substantiality disappears. Enlightenment thinkers actually reduced this term to “material substratum.” Therefore, for example, Diderot believed that there is no matter as such. It exists only and exclusively in diverse things and objects. 
Category of matter in the philosophy of Marxism
Helmholtz also made the assumption that the main quality of this substance is its independence from our creation. Thus, the existence of matter is objective. Therefore, Helmholtz called everything that exists independently of man. But this concept has acquired a very high status in materialist, and especially in Marxist, philosophy. It began to denote the origin of everything, including the spirit. 
Matter in the philosophy of Marxism is a term that generally defines a reality independent of us, which is recorded by human senses. However, the later development of physics, which tells us about atoms and elementary particles, has called this formulation into question. After all, there are levels of development and existence of matter that our senses do not perceive at all.
What is it?
Now many researchers and scientists doubt that any such substance has a real existence. After all, it cannot be detected experimentally. But everyone agrees that matter in philosophy is a category that is convenient to designate objects, phenomena and processes physical world. Therefore, it is often contrasted with phenomena of the spirit or consciousness. It determines the most essential qualities of the real existence of the world. 
The properties of matter in philosophy are integrity, inexhaustibility, variability, systemic orderliness and others. With the development of the methodology of modern scientific knowledge, some qualities began to be understood as fundamental. These include systematicity. In addition, this concept itself goes through a very difficult path of formation - it is clarified, deepened, and new facets are discovered.
Attributes and levels
Matter in philosophy exists in time, space and motion. These concepts are its attributes. Any material things and objects are always mobile, located at some point in space and during a certain period of time. Otherwise they cannot exist. In addition, matter has structural forms of organization. This is primarily an inorganic level. This includes micro, macro and mega worlds. Then the organic level is distinguished. It covers everything related to living nature and biological existence. And finally, there is the social level. It takes into account various human communities and individuals - personality, family, tribe, clan, ethnic group, nation, group, gender, and so on. 
Matter in philosophy is a category, the definition of which increasingly takes into account not only the epistemological, but also the ontological meaning of this concept.
Versatility
The definition known to us from our student days has long been criticized by modern thinkers. However, more successful and general definition no one has come up with it yet. Therefore, matter in philosophy is the most convenient way to reflect objectively real being in its universality in a scientific term. It is used when it is necessary to describe a certain substance that cannot be destroyed, it is eternal in time and infinite in extension. It develops independently, based on internal reasons, and constantly moves from one state to another. All its bodies, things and phenomena are determined by cause-and-effect relationships, which makes it possible to observe patterns in the processes of their interaction. And man studies and continues to cognize this existence.