How can multiple artworks, such as musical performances or literary texts, be ontologically defined without reducing them to abstract types independent of human creative practice? David R. Davies, a philosopher specializing in aesthetics, challenges the prevailing 'type-token' model of multiple artworks. He proposes an alternative framework that situates these works as performances essentially embedded within specific artistic practices, arguing that their existence depends on the ongoing creative and appreciative activities of their participants.

Scholars in the field of aesthetics recognize this work as a significant contribution to the ontology of art, particularly for its rigorous challenge to standard type-token theories. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which requires a strong background in analytic philosophy to navigate effectively.