If there are many copies of a novel, which one is the novel?

On the type/token view, none of them is: the novel is an abstract type, and each printed copy is a token of it, so we read the work by reading a token, but the work itself is not identical to any single copy.

Why is a copy of a painting a forgery but a copy of a print is not?

Goodman's autographic/allographic distinction explains this: painting is autographic, so the work is tied to a particular making and copies are forgeries, whereas printmaking and literature are allographic, so any properly produced instance is authentic.

Types and Tokens in Art

Many artworks, such as novels and prints, exist in multiple copies, prompting the view that the work is an abstract type and the copies its concrete tokens.

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Definition

On the type/token analysis, a multiple artwork is an abstract type, and its physical copies or instances are tokens of that type; the work has its properties as a type, while tokens may have additional, work-irrelevant features.

Scope

This topic covers the application of the type/token distinction to art: the contrast between singular works (a painting, a sculpture) and multiple works (a novel, an etching, a film), the analysis of multiple works as types instanced by tokens, Goodman's autographic/allographic distinction, and rival ontologies such as identifying works with classes, kinds, or abstract artifacts. It does not cover the special ontology of musical performance, treated in a sibling topic, except as illustration.

Core questions

Why are some artworks singular and others multiple?
Is a multiple work an abstract type, a class, or a kind?
How do a work's properties as a type relate to the properties of its tokens?
Does the type/token analysis capture all multiple arts?

Key theories

Works as types: Wollheim analyzes multiple artworks as types whose tokens are the physical copies or performances, holding that the work is appreciated as a type, while features peculiar to a token are not features of the work.
Autographic and allographic works: Goodman's distinction explains why some arts admit genuine multiple instances fixed by notation (allographic) while others are tied to a particular making, so that copies are forgeries (autographic).

History

The type/token terminology, due to C. S. Peirce, was applied to art by Wollheim in Art and Its Objects to explain how a single work can have many instances. Goodman's parallel autographic/allographic distinction tied multiplicity to notational identity. Later philosophers debated whether types are eternal and discovered or created abstract artifacts, and whether classes, kinds, or continuant entities better model multiple works.

Debates

Types as eternal vs. created: Whether the type that is a novel or print exists timelessly and is merely selected by the artist, or is created by the artist's act, parallels the broader dispute over the creatability of abstract artworks.
Type/token vs. rival ontologies: Whether multiple works are best treated as types, as classes of tokens, or as kinds is contested, since each model fits some intuitions about identity and authenticity better than others.

Key figures

Richard Wollheim
Nelson Goodman
Amie Thomasson
Gregory Currie

Seminal works

wollheim1968
goodman1968

Frequently asked questions

If there are many copies of a novel, which one is the novel?: On the type/token view, none of them is: the novel is an abstract type, and each printed copy is a token of it, so we read the work by reading a token, but the work itself is not identical to any single copy.
Why is a copy of a painting a forgery but a copy of a print is not?: Goodman's autographic/allographic distinction explains this: painting is autographic, so the work is tied to a particular making and copies are forgeries, whereas printmaking and literature are allographic, so any properly produced instance is authentic.