Introduction
Aesthetics is, to put it simply, the study of art, beauty, and judgments thereof. As society tends to not view art as a functional endeavour, this branch of study may seem pointless; in fact a well-known aesthete and self-proclaimed Professor of Aesthetics, Oscar Wilde, stated “All art is quite useless.” However, this sentence is misleading, and the same man also said "Aestheticism is a search after the signs of the beautiful. It is the science of the beautiful through which men seek the correlation of the arts. It is, to speak more exactly, the search after the secret of life." Now, that sounds more interesting and important than the study of a “useless” topic, and whether the study of aesthetics serves a blatantly “functional” role in our lives or not, it certainly appeals to our humanity, our common sense of beauty and capacity for aesthetic experience, and can potentially deepen our understanding of this phenomena that has been around since the dawn of man.
To explain it in a less broad and lofty manner, aesthetics asks questions along the lines of “what is art?”, “...
According to the Oxford dictionary, Art is an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. (oxforddictionaries.com). In the area of the Arts, it seems that knowledge is attained through a holistic lens, where its approach towards knowledge emphasizes the whole of an artwork rather than their constituent parts (simplyphyschology.com). Art can be accessible since the audience is able to experience it directly, with the help of our senses. As viewer we enjoy aesthetic pleasure, which involves an appreciation of the contents in relation to vehicles or supports. (Levinson, 1996) In fact, according to Jerrold Levinson’s ‘The Pleasures of Aesthetics’
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.
What is art? Art and assessment are deeply unified, since our ability to experience and understand artistic works is intensely unfair by our own perceptions. Consequently, any definition of art should emphasize the importance of perception in creating and experiencing art. In the film (Why Beauty Matters) by Roger Scruton, he is bringing out some pinnacles of art, and some of his observation and mines are somewhat in comparison.
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.
The question of whether or not there can be a completely objective standard of artistic beauty is quite a controversial topic in contemporary popular opinion. In order to properly understand one's position on art, we may first need to clarify what it means for something to be considered art. Definitions of art have been numerous and, for the most part, unfruitful, yet I will provide a brief background on popular definitions of the course of time in order to provide a proper context for the definition of aesthetic value. The purpose of this essay is to determine the factors which make particular pieces of art beautiful and others not. I will analyse what I consider to be the two major components of aesthetic value, subjective sentiments and
Influencing centuries of individuals and philosophers alike, David Hume employed an entirely different aspect of philosophy throughout his lifetime; one that invoked empiricists’ values while demonstrating a moral distinction caused not from reason, but from sentiment. Hume has become a figurehead for conceptions of human nature as well as human morality, emphasizing the naturalistic ethical view of virtues and vices as well as creating a clear understanding of human understanding through various components. David Hume exemplified his empiricist ethics by grasping the concept of knowledge, causation, and perception to accurately display the art of human nature. David Hume lived a moderately short life starting on August 26th, 1711 where he
In the history of Western Philosophy, Immanuel Kant is considered as one of the most important and influential philosophers. Kant contributed a lot to metaphysics, ethics, aesthetics and made a profound impact on philosophical movement of that time. Kant was highly impressed by work of David Hume and it was the work of David Hume that evoked Kant from his dogmas. It’s being said that Kant spend close to12 years in search of answers of various questions of David Hume’s skepticism A large part of Kant’s work was focused on addressing of very basic questions regarding knowledge of self. For Kant, knowledge is constrained to mathematics and the science of the natural, empirical world. He firmly believed that we cannot extend our knowledge to realm of speculative metaphysics. It is the mind that plays a sole and active role in constituting the features of experience and limiting the mind’s access to the empirical realm of space and time.
An Evaluation of Perception Regarding Immanuel Kant and David Hume A common philosophy that has dominated and defined the very nature of science is the theory that humankind can only be aware of that which exists within the mind. David Hume defined this concept as perception but resided the belief that perceptions could be categorically broken down into ideas and impressions in his work, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding. This gave rise to Immanuel Kant’s Critique in Pure Reason, which tested Hume’s notions. As it goes in philosophy, these ideas are purely theories of man and to take either philosopher’s side would seem implausible: It is evident both men have accomplished the unthinkable when considering their demographics – a notion
David Hume’s essay “Of the Standard of Taste” addresses the problem of how objects are judged. Hume addresses three assumptions about how aesthetic value is determined. These assumptions are: all tastes are equal, some art is better than others, and aesthetic value of art is defined by a person’s taste(from lecture). However, Hume finds the three beliefs to be an “inconsistent triad”(from lecture) of assumptions. If all taste is equal but taste defines the aesthetic value, how can it be that some art is good and others bad? Wouldn’t all art be equal if all taste is equal? Hume does not believe all objects are equal in their beauty or greatness. He states that some art is meant to endure, “the beauties, which are naturally fitted to excite agreeable sentiment, immediately display their energy”.(text pg 259) So how will society discern what is agreeable and what is not? Hume proposes a set of true judges whose palates are so refined they can precisely define the aesthetic value of something.
AA theory by Clive Bell suggests the pinpoints the exact characteristic which makes a work true art. According to Bell, an artwork must produce “aesthetic emotion” (365). This aesthetic emotion is drawn from the form and formality of an artwork rather than whether or not it is aesthetically pleasing or how well it imitates what it is trying to depict. The relation of objects to each other, the colors used, and the qualities of the lines are seemingly more important than what emotion or idea the artwork is trying to provoke. Regardless of whether or not the artwork is a true imitation of certain emotions, ideals, or images, it cannot be true art unless it conjures this aesthetic emotion related to formality (367).
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.
Aesthetics is the theoretical study of the arts and related types of behavior and experience. It is traditionally regarded as a branch of philosophy, concerned with the understanding of beauty and its manifestations in art and nature. However, in the latter 20th century there developed a tendency to treat it as an independent science, concerned with investigating the phenomena of art and its place in human life. Yet, what in a field with a hazy line in between being classified as a science or study of beliefs is considered data for determining what can be studied? It can simply be drawn to the only three things involved in the process of art : The creator, the person experiencing, and the art itself.
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher known for his ideas of skepticism and empiricism. Hume strived to better develop John Locke’s idea of empiricism by using a scientific study of our own human nature. We cannot lean on common sense to exemplify human conduct without offering any clarification to the subject. In other words, Hume says that since human beings do, as a matter of fact, live and function in this world, observation of how humans do so is imminent. The primary goal of philosophy is simply to explain and justify the reasoning of why we believe what we do.
This is the state of contemplating a subject with no other purpose than appreciating it. For most authors, thus, the aesthetic attitude is purposeless: we have no reason to engage in it other than finding aesthetic enjoyment. Aesthetically, we appreciate beauty by using our senses by appreciating fine art in a museum say the Mona Lisa, taking a walking in garden filled with our favorite flowers and trees, devouring our favorite meal; or even finding an oasis in the dessert. Nevertheless, our imagination can also aid with our aesthetic attitude. Finding ourselves happy when we think of our family and friends is a beautiful thing, love is beauty, and beauty is love.