Full Idea
Substances, as property bearers, must be simple; substances of necessity lack constituents that are themselves substances.
Gist of Idea
Substances bear properties, so must be simple, and not consist of further substances
Source
John Heil (The Universe as We Find It [2012], 01.3)
Book Reference
Heil,John: 'The Universe as We Find It' [OUP 2012], p.4
A Reaction
How can he think that this is a truth of pure metaphysics? A crowd has properties because we think of it as a simple substance, not because it actually is one. Can properties have properties? Are tree and leaf both substances?