Full Idea
The definite descriptions of stuff like water are neither singular descriptions denoting individual mereological aggregates, nor plural descriptions denoting multitudes of discrete units or semantically determined atoms.
Gist of Idea
Descriptions of stuff are neither singular aggregates nor plural collections
Source
Henry Laycock (Words without Objects [2006], 5.3)
Book Reference
Laycock,Henry: 'Words without Objects' [OUP 2006], p.153
A Reaction
Laycock makes an excellent case for this claim, and seems to invite a considerable rethink of our basic ontology to match it, one which he ultimately hints at calling 'romantic'. Nice. Conservatives try to force stuff into classical moulds.