P. F. STRAWSON AND STEPHEN DAVIES ON THE ONTOLOGY OF ART. A CRITICAL DISCUSSION

• Authors: Pettersson Anders
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

P. F. Strawson's 'Individuals' (1959) contains a condensed version of the ontology of art. According to this ontology, musical and literary compositions are two similar types. They are abstract entities, instantiated in the performances of the piece of music or the copies of the literary work. Musical and literary compositions are 'well-entrenched', Strawson says - we cannot eliminate these abstractions, or perhaps we have no need to do so. Strawson's ontology of art forms an integral part of what he calls his 'descriptive metaphysics', and his resistance to the elimination of types and type-like entities is one example of his reservations against 'revisionary metaphysics'. Nowadays, Strawson's name is seldom mentioned in connection with the philosophy of art. Yet the general view of the ontology of art advocated in Individuals is still probably the one most widely held in analytical aesthetics today. Thus, for example, Stephen Davies adopts the same general position as Strawson in his article 'Ontology of Art' (2003), the best informed contemporary overview of the complex of problems surrounding the mode of existence of works of art. Unlike Strawson, Davies also adduces explicit reasons why concepts of musical and literary compositions cannot be successfully eliminated. Critically reviewing Strawson's and Davies' standpoints and arguments, the author maintains that concepts of artworks can in fact be successfully eliminated, and that the bracketing of such notions leads to a better theoretical perspective on musical and literary communication. Throughout the paper, he speaks for an open-minded approach to conceptual revision.

Keywords

EN

COMMUNICATION; CONCEPTUAL REVISION; DAVIES STEPHEN; LITERARY COMPOSITION; MUSIC COMPOSITION; ONTOLOGY OF ART; STRAWSON P. F.

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Institute of Philosophy of Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic
• Journal: Organon F. medzinárodný časopis pre analytickú filozofiu
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 615-631
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Pettersson Anders

• Anders Pettersson, Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umea University, SE-90187 Umea, Sweden; www.klemens.sav.sk/fiusav/organon

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

10SKAAAA074818