David Hume and His Thoughts

David Hume and His Thoughts

Hume begins his argument by observing that there is “a great variety

of taste, as well as of opinions, which prevails the world.” This

diversity is found among people of the same background and culture

within the same group and is even more pronounced among “distance

nations and remote ages.” A “standard of taste” would provide a

definite way to reconcile this diversity. By taste, Hume refers to

impressions or emotional responses associated with beauty and

ugliness. Each person perceives beauty differently or, in other

words, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Hume then starts to

outline this thesis. Sentiments are subjective and can neither be

right or wrong. “Judgments of understanding,” on the other hand, are

based on facts and can be right or wrong. Hume continues to state

that there are rules that can be employed to resolve critical

disputes, which requires that one be able to prove that the rule is

applicable to any case. It is then possible that the “bad critic” may

acknowledge his/her error. Hume writes that in “every creature there

is a sound and defective state,” and those with a sound state are

“true judges.” His thesis is that true judges have the ability to

transcend their cultural-historical situation and exercise a sense of

taste with objectivity that relies on facts.

2. Individual Taste

Hume does not feel that one individual’s taste is necessarily equal to

the taste of another individual. Again, Hume opens his argument with

an observation that there is great diversity of taste among

individuals of the same background and culture. This variety is even

greater whe...

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... For critics, judgment

comes into it along with sentiment. Thus critics will rate something

highly that is not to their personal taste. This phenomenon occurs

because critics will apply standards with disinterest. Hume makes

another good point that any critic can be wrong on a give issue.

However when you take the judgment of many critics, you see that the

admiration for Homer’s works endure regardless of changing fashions

because his works must be something that is excellent due to objective

judgments.

7. Ideas of My Own

Though, Hume was specifically speaking of art and aesthetic judgment,

I believe that these principles can be used in other subject areas.

Whether the individual is analyzing art or analyzing science, they

must apply standards with disinterest in order to make an informed

judgment.