Phillips, Dawn M.. (2009) Photography and causation: responding to Scruton's scepticism. British Journal of Aesthetics, Vol.49 (No.4). pp. 327-340. ISSN 0007-0904

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Abstract

According to Roger Scruton, it is not possible for photographs to be representational art. Most responses to Scruton's scepticism are versions of the claim that Scruton disregards the extent to which intentionality features in photography; but these cannot force him to give up his notion of the ideal photograph. My approach is to argue that Scruton has misconstrued the role of causation in his discussion of photography. I claim that although Scruton insists that the ideal photograph is defined by its ‘merely causal’ provenance, in fact he fails to take the causal provenance of photographs seriously enough. To replace Scruton's notion of the ideal photograph, I offer a substantive account of the causal provenance of photographs, centred on the distinctive role of ‘the photographic event’. I conclude that, with a proper understanding of the photographic process, we have good reason to re-open the question of photography as a representational art.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BH Aesthetics T Technology > TR Photography
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Scruton, Roger, Photography, Artistic -- History and criticism, Causation, Aesthetics, Representation (Philosophy)
Journal or Publication Title:	British Journal of Aesthetics
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	0007-0904
Date:	October 2009
Volume:	Vol.49
Number:	No.4
Page Range:	pp. 327-340
Identification Number:	10.1093/aesthj/ayp036
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/3013

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