 Cordemoy also maintains the possibility of a void, that is, space which is truly empty, and as before, his argument is based on his understanding of the concept of substance. If we have three contiguous bodies and the one in the middle is destroyed in an instant, we will, Cordemoy claims, be left with an empty space between the two remaining bodies (that is, the two would not instantaneously rush together). These two bodies, being substances, possess a metaphysical independence from what happens to other bodies. For Cordemoy, to hold otherwise would disqualify bodies (atoms) from being substances, on his understanding of the concept of substance. Likewise, if one could remove all of the matter filling a vase, the sides of the vase, pace Descartes and others, would not collapse, according to Cordemoy. The bodies that compose the sides are each themselves substances, and as such are ontologically independent of what happens to other bodies (for again, if they were not, they would not qualify as a substance).