The Problem of Relations. Mach and Meinong

Meinong deals with the problem of relations by addressing the empiristic theory that dates back to Locke and Hume. He tries to overcome their psychological approach by framing the relations in logical-ontological terms and by identifying in them objects of a higher order which include non existing entities. This extension of objectivity highlights - in connection with Ehrenfels' figural qualities - the formal properties of wholes as complexes that are superior to the sum of their parts. According to Mach, however, not every complex has such qualities: there are sets of anti-figural relations, based on sensible elements, which do not show a synthetic-holistic character and are composed only by logical sum. Mach promotes a concept of relation that goes beyond the premises of figural qualities, by proposing a notion of relation as a mathematical function establishing a genetic link of continuity between sensations and concepts, in line with Husserl's phenomenology.