David Hume’s essay, "Of The Standard of Taste," is one of the most revered of the copious works on what is referred to as aesthetics. Although, he is better known for his other works, such as, "A treatise of human Nature," "An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding," and "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals," all in which he shows how limited a role reason has in the lives of humans. This subjective view is also present in "Of The Standard of Taste": aesthetic judgments are based on personal feeling more than they are on reason. Beauty is not in the object itself but in the subject; thus as the saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Because of this, there is an infinitely wide variety of opinions as there are beholders. This wide array of opinions makes it hard, as Hume himself puts it, to satisfy our natural want of "Standard of Taste; a rule, by which the various sentiments of men may be reconciled; at least, a decision, afforded, confirming one sentiment, and condemning another" (257). He suggests two ways of differentiating between the best and the worst. One is the test of time: If generation after generations of spectators deem a work great, it must be great. This test is faulty because it cannot be applied to newly created works. The other test is more of a set of requirements that should be met by art enthusiast before they judge works. These requirements are as follows: 1) A delicate taste or imagination, 2) practice in the field, 3) ability to compare, 4) Lack of prejudice, and 5) good sense. It is not easy to meet all these requirements as Hume admits: “a true judge in the finer arts is ... rare” (264). However rare, there are some who have met these standards. When they come together, they mi... ... middle of paper ... ...merely give variety. After all, beauty is universal. The most important reason one should give an inkling what an ideal critic thinks is that one is not simply born an ideal critic. They attained the status. All shortcomings can be addressed. A want in delicacy of taste can be addressed by medicine and practice. A want in time to practice can be addressed by better scheduling of time. A want in ability to make comparisons can be addressed by practice. A want in freedom of prejudice can be addressed by practice and good sense. And a want in good sense can be addressed by practice. Works Cited Hume, David. "Of the Standard of Taste." The Philosophy of Art: Readings Ancient and Modern. Eds. Neill, Alex and Aaron Ridley. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. 254-268. Print. Townsend, Dabney. Hume's aesthetic theory: taste and sentiment. New York: Routledge, 2001. Print.
Mitchell, Helen Buss. "Aesthetic Experience." Roots of Wisdom: A Tapestry of Philosophical Traditions. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011. 303-24. Print.
In Gaut’s essay, “The Ethical Criticism of Art”, he addresses the relevance of an art piece’s ethical value when making an aesthetic evaluation. His key argument revolves around the attitudes that works of art manifest such that he presents the following summary “If a work manifests ethically reprehensible attitudes, it is to that extent aesthetically defective, and if a work manifests ethically commendable attitudes, it is to that extent aesthetically meritorious”. In direct contrast with formalists, who divine a work’s merit through an assessment of its style and compositional aspects, Gaut states that any art piece’s value requires a pro tanto judgement. This pro tanto position allows for pieces considered stylistic masterpieces, to be
The next major theory on how one obtains knowledge comes from David Hume’s Empiricism. Empiricism itself is the idea that all knowledge obtained is done so through senses or experiences throughout life. This theory itself clearly contrasts with rationalism as rationalists believe at no point that they should gain knowledge through senses/experiences. Furthermore, as an empiricist, he does not value anything that is not attained through experience. One of Hume’s beliefs is the idea that everyone is born with a mental “blank slate”. Because all knowledge we gain is thought to be gained through experience (which a newborn would have none at that point) the “slate” starts as blank and will filled in as the person learns through experiences. This
David Hume sought out to express his opinion on ethics in which sentiment is seen as the grounding basis for morality. These theories can be seen as a response to the theories proposed by philosophers where they believed reason is considered to be the basis for morality. In this following essay I will show how Hume provides an argument in favor of sentiment being the foundation of our morality, rather than reason. To do this, I will begin to outline Hume’s ethical theories, highlighting his main ideas for grounding morality on sentiment and bring up some possible counterarguments that might potentially weaken this argument.
Megan Darnley PHIL-283 May 5, 2014 Compatibilism and Hume. The choices an individual makes are often believed to be by their own doing; there is nothing forcing one action to be done in lieu of another, and the responsibility of one’s actions is on him alone. This idea of Free Will, supported by libertarians and is the belief one is entirely responsible for their own actions, is challenged by necessity, otherwise known as determinism. Those championing determinism argue every action and event is because of some prior cause.
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
Varnedoe, Kirk. A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1990. 152. Print.
In this paper I will defend David Hume’s Moral Sense Theory, which states that like sight and hearing, morals are a perceptive sense derived from our emotional responses. Since morals are derived from our emotional responses rather than reason, morals are not objective. Moreover, the emotional basis of morality is empirically proven in recent studies in psychology, areas in the brain associated with emotion are the most active while making a moral judgment. My argument will be in two parts, first that morals are response-dependent, meaning that while reason is still a contributing factor to our moral judgments, they are produced primarily by our emotional responses, and finally that each individual has a moral sense.
Just as other works that reflect art, pieces in the category of fine arts serve the important message of passing certain messages or portraying a special feeling towards a particular person, function or activity. At times due to the nature of a particular work, it can become so valuable that its viewers cannot place a price on it. It is not the nature or texture of an art that qualifies it, but the appreciation by those who look at it (Lewis & Lewis, 2008).
He argued that past art demanded thought and understanding, whereas advertising and celebrity culture demanded only immediate attention, very quickly becoming uninteresting and boring(). Art should stimulate more the viewer than just visually. Art that has substance behind it I tend to remember more or think about more. This piece is innovative, it brings about ideas with it that hadn’t been discovered in our society. I can see how the audience at first glance could consider this not to be art. I probably would’ve agreed, but learning about it I know that every time I see the repeated images of the soup cans I now think twice. I consider good art to be art that is able to stimulating the mind visually, by bringing about new
Philosophies of Art and Beauty Edited by Hofstadter and Kuhns, (Chicago: University of Chicago press, 1976) chapters one and two for an overview of the aesthetics of Plato and Aristotle.
The job of the critic, like a scientist, is to explain what the parts of the object do to bring about the ultimate aesthetic value of that object.... ... middle of paper ... ... In this essay Hume creates the true judges who are required to have: delicacy of taste, practice in a specific art of taste, be free from prejudice in their determinations, and good sense to guide their judgments.
But why is it important to define beauty? Why do we need to know other cultures’ standards of beauty? Because if we are to criticize a “work of art,” we need to think of this things. What are the maker’s standards of beauty? Did his or her culture influence the way he or she created the
In Appendix I., Concerning Moral Sentiment, David Hume looks to find a place in morality for reason, and sentiment. Through, five principles he ultimately concludes that reason has no place within the concept of morality, but rather is something that can only assist sentiment in matters concerning morality. And while reason can be true or false, those truths or falsities apply to facts, not to morality. He then argues morals are the direct result of sentiment, or the inner feeling within a human being. These sentiments are what intrinsically drive and thus create morality within a being. Sentiments such as beauty, revenge, pleasure, pain, create moral motivation, and action, and are immune to falsity and truth. They are the foundation for which morals are built, and exist themselves apart from any reasoning. Thesis: In moral motivation, the role of sentiment is to drive an intrinsically instilled presence within us to examine what we would deem a moral act or an immoral act, and act accordingly, and accurately upon the sentiments that apply. These sentiments may be assisted by reasons, but the reason alone does not drive us to do what we would feel necessary. They can only guide us towards the final result of moral motivation which (by now it’s painfully clear) is sentiment.
Goldblatt, and Brown. Aesthetics: A Reader in Philosophy of the Arts, Upper Saddle Ridge, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.