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Full Idea
It is said that concrete objects have causal powers while abstract ones do not, or that concrete objects exist in space and time while abstract ones do not, but these categories seem crude and inappropriate for modern physics.
Gist of Idea
If concrete is spatio-temporal and causal, and abstract isn't, the distinction doesn't suit physics
Source
J Ladyman / D Ross (Every Thing Must Go [2007], 3.6)
Book Ref
Ladyman,J/Ross,D: 'Every Thing Must Go' [OUP 2007], p.160
A Reaction
I don't find this convincing. He gives example of peculiar causation, but I don't believe modern physics proposes any entities which are totally acausal and non-spatiotemporal. Maybe the distinction needs a defence.