 All three Thing-Theoretic views in section  2  maintain that, fundamentally, it all boils down to things. ‘Matter’ always refers to parcels (or ‘sums’) of matter, and parcels are always particular things, which can even be counted in principle. (If there are n simple and discrete fundamental things across all of space-time, then there are at most (2n − 1) things total in the cosmos). Masses-as-sets can always be held to be sets of things, and plural reference can always be held to be reference to a number of things.