Causal closure in panpsychism
Theoria Beograd January 1, 2024 Janko Nešić
The mind-body problem asks whether conscious, non-physical mental states can cause physical behavior. Physicalists argue that the physical world is causally closed—only physical events can cause physical effects—which would make mental causation impossible under dualism. However, Russellian panpsychism offers a solution: science reveals only relational or structural properties, while intrinsic properties (such as phenomenal consciousness) may serve as the causal bases for those structures. If dispositions have categorical bases, and the only known intrinsic properties are phenomenal, then the causal closure principle is false, allowing mental causation without violating physical laws.