© British Society of Aesthetics 2005
Aesthetic Realism and Emotional Qualities of Music
Malcolm Budd, 12 Hardwick Street, Cambridge CB3 9JA, UK. Email: malcolm{at}mbudd.fsnet.co.uk
Roger Scruton appears to have been the first to argue for and articulate an anti-realist theory of aesthetic properties. In the case of emotional qualities of music, his principal argument against realism is unsound and cannot, I believe, be repaired. Nevertheless an anti-realist view of emotional qualities of music is in my view correct and I defend Scruton's insight against a rival realist conception. However, I prefer a rather different form of anti-realism to Scruton's.