Notes on "Of the Standard of Taste"

(Originally Written December 27, 2007 in the Journal)

God give me the strength of mind to pursue this topic to its fullest. Grant me the wisdom needed in discovering your Truth. God give me the desire to seek you in every topic.

"Of the Standard of Taste"
By David Hume
(Continued)

There is a difference between sentiment and judgment.

All sentiments are right and true. Only one judgment is right and true.

A sentiment does not represent what exists in the object, only the feelings aroused in the sentiment holder.

Beauty does not exist in the object. "It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them; and each mind perceives a different beauty".

To search out the real beauty is a fruitless activity. It is like seeking out the real sweet or the real bitter.

Common sense demands that there is no true beauty or no right taste; but, common sense also demands that people who prefer a finger painting to the Mona Lisa have wrong sentiments.

When something is pleasing but does not conform to the accepted rules of the medium it is pleasing in spite of its non-conformity, not because of it.

Homer pleased Athens and Rome. He pleased Paris and London in Hume's day. He pleases New York and D.C. today. Authority and prejudice may give temporary vogue to lesser, current authors, but they will diminish in time. Only great works are timeless.

[Thus, is beauty gauged on time?]

While there can be a variance of taste and sentiment, there must also be certain general principles of approbation or blame.

Beauty and deformity are not qualities in objects, but belong entirely to sentiment. However, it must be admitted that certain qualities in objects are predisposed to arousing these sentiments.

The delicacy of taste is the ability to discern all of these qualities. Those who posses this trait are more qualified to have their taste made into a standard of taste. (i.e. Sancho's taste for wine in Don Quixote).

Practice is how one acquires this delicacy of taste.

"Every work of art has also a certain end or purpose for which it is to be deemed more or less perfect, as it is more or less fitted to attain this end".

The principles of taste in men are universal and nearly or entirely the same in all men. But, few are qualified to give judgment on any work of art or to establish their own sentiment as the standard of beauty.

Key points:

1. Beauty exists in the mind of the observer, not in the object itself.

2. To seek Absolute Beauty is fruitless.

3. Taste is subjective because it is based on our sentiments. Only those who have been finely tuned to observing every part of what is beautiful are qualified to give sound judgment on works of art.

4. Those things that possess universal qualities that arouse the sentiment of beauty are timeless and culturally universal. Things that are merely agreeable in a given time and place are not necessarily beautiful.

5. "Every work of art has also a certain end or purpose". Art has a function. It relays a message. It can be judged as more perfect or less perfect on how effective it is in achieving its designed end.
              
1. Is this true?
2. If it is, who gives it the purpose?

Aesthetics - What is Beauty? What is Art?

(Originally Written on December 25, 2007 in the Journal)

Aesthetics - What is Beauty? What is Art?

Part I: What is Beauty?

Questions for consideration:

1) Is beauty subjective, objective, or a combination thereof?
2) What is taste?

Part II: Explore different mediums, define art (as a language?)

Research Topics

Immanuel Kant
David Hume
Ludwig Wittgenstein
John Dewey
Leo Tolstoy
Plato
Nelson Goodman
Arthur C. Danto
Martin Heidegger
Jerrold Levinson
Terry Eagleton
Michel Foucault
Friedrich Nietzsche
Aristotle
Edmund Burke
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Topics: mediums, perception of art, why create?

"Of the Standard of Taste"
By: David Hume

It is useful for us to seek a "standard of taste".

A standard of taste is "a rule by which the various sentiments of men may be reconciled".