Abstract

What is the ontological status of a musical work? This paper enters the discussion of the question between Julian Dodd and Michael Morris. Dodd is a proponent of a type-token view, which is a version of Platonism. Morris has formulated an argument that purports to show that a musical work cannot be a token of a type. If successful, the argument presents a serious challenge for a type-token theorist with implications for Platonism as a whole. Morris’s argument is, however, problematic in several respects. The aim of this paper is to identify the problems and weaken the strength of Morris’s argument, thus restoring the original appeal of a type-token view