Full Idea
Chemical analysis either arrives at a qualityless substance, the notorious substratum, or is obliged to declare certain qualities primary and inexplicable. Substituting individuals-with-powers for substance-with-qualities removes these difficulties.
Gist of Idea
The notorious substratum results from substance-with-qualities; individuals-with-powers solves this
Source
Harré,R./Madden,E.H. (Causal Powers [1975], 6.II)
Book Reference
Harré,R/Madden,E.H.: 'Causal Powers: A Theory of Natural Necessity' [Blackwell 1975], p.104
A Reaction
Any account gives you something as basic, and that something is always going to seem inherently and deeply mysterious. I prefer powers to substrata, but what has the powers? They like 'fields'.