Ernst Mach’s World Elements

Mach's elements push, pull and impede one another in dynamical complexes and can only be isolated from these complexes provisionally.

“Mach's elements Philosophical Psychology 175 push, pull and impede one another in dynamical complexes and can only be isolated from these complexes provisionally (Banks, 2003).”

Mach's ideal for physics was to replace the object-property ontology with a world of powers or world elements linked in functional relations, a power-ontology he believed held all the way down to a basic structure of nature more fundamental than atoms.

“Mach's ideal for physics, then, was to replace the object-property ontology with a world of powers, or world elements, linked to each other in functional relations, a power-ontology which Mach believed held all the way down to a basic structure of nature even more fundamental than atoms (Banks, 2003).”

Neutral monism is a position in metaphysics and philosophy of mind whose classic version was defended by Ernst Mach, William James, and Bertrand Russell.

“Neutral monism is a position in metaphysics and philosophy of mind, the classic version of which was defended by Ernst Mach, William James, and Bertrand Russell (Banks, 2003).”

There has recently been a modest revival of neutral monism deriving from a passage in Russell's Analysis of Matter.

“Recently, there has been a modest revival of the position deriving from a passage in Russell's (1927Russell's ( /1959) ) Analysis of Matter (see Banks, 2003Banks, , 2004;;Chalmers, 1996Chalmers, , 2003;;Holman, 2008;Lockwood, 1989;Maxwell, 1978;Rosenberg, 2004;Stoljar, 2001a;Strawson, 2006;and Unger, 1999, among others):”

It is a basic misunderstanding of neutral monism that it is a form of phenomenalism or idealism.

“This continues to be a basic misunderstanding of neutral monism, i.e., that it is a form of phenomenalism or idealism.”