Friday, April 22, 2011

Caleb Henderson:Art as an Object of Taste: David Hume-In class reading

In his piece on the standard of taste, Hume says that there is a very wide distinction between sentiment and judgment. “All sentiment is right; because sentiment has a reference to nothing beyond itself, and is always real, wherever a man is conscious of it. But all determinations of the understanding are not right; because they have a reference to something beyond themselves, to wit, real matter of fact; and are not always conformable to that standard." While this claim does make some sense, I do not agree with Hume’s view that sentiment and judgment do not go hand in hand. Often times we make judgments about things based on how they make us feel (which is our sentiment). For example, when I look at a piece of art I might feel inspired and awe struck, and I would judge this particular piece as quality work. Someone else looking at the same piece, may feel disgusted and therefore judge the artwork to be inferior. Opinions cannot be right or wrong, they are simply opinions.


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