Full Idea
The thesis about composition and parthood that I am advocating has far-reaching ontological consequences: that every physical thing is either a living organism or a simple.
Gist of Idea
Every physical thing is either a living organism or a simple
Source
Peter van Inwagen (Material Beings [1990], 10)
Book Reference
Inwagen,Peter van: 'Material Beings' [Cornell 1995], p.98
A Reaction
A 'simple' is a placeholder for anything considered to be a fundamental unit of existence (such as an electron or a quark). This amazingly sharp distinction strikes me as utterly implausible. There is too much in the middle ground.