  As we have seen, the primary metaphysical thesis of Russell’s atomism is the view that the world consists of many independent entities that exhibit qualities and stand in relations to one another.  On this picture, the simplest sort of fact or complex consists either of a single individual or particular bearing a quality, or a number of individuals bearing a relation to one another. Relations can be divided into various categories depending on how many relata they involve: a binary or dyadic relation involves two relata (e.g., a is to the left of b); a triadic relation (e.g., a is between b and c) involves three relata and so on. Russell at times used the word “relation” in a broad sense so as to include qualities, which could be considered as “monadic” relations, i.e., relations that only involve one relatum.  The quality of being white, involved, e.g., in the fact that a is white, could then, in this broader sense, also be considered a relation.