“The problem of the relation of mind and matter can be completely solved” (Russell 1959)
Oxford University Press eBooks June 22, 2026 Galen Strawson
The chapter argues that Bertrand Russell's neutral monism, often mischaracterized in contemporary philosophy, coherently resolves the mind–body problem. Russell simultaneously identifies as a neutral monist, a materialist, and a physicalist in the original senses of those terms, while being a realist about consciousness. He contends that conscious experience reveals something of the intrinsic nature of the physical world. He remains officially agnostic about panpsychism, though consistently open to it. The author defends Russell's own claim to have completely solved the mind–body problem against common misunderstandings.