David Hume's Theory Of Judging Art

The philosopher David Hume established a theory of judging artwork that helps individuals understand the subtle elements of a piece of art that make it aesthetically pleasing. As a matter of fact, the notion of delicacy is central to his whole philosophical project because it explains the capacity of an individual to view art that is devoid of prejudice and bias. Hume then makes a distinction between sentiment and judgment that clarifies the level of preciseness they possess in relation to a given work of art. Furthermore, Hume articulates the nature of prejudice as it can negatively influence one’s’ judgments. The manner in which one judges art needs to be in a mindset that allows for controlled thoughts, rather than let one’s prejudice interfere

He explains the process of an individual separating themselves from their own developed prejudices, which demonstrates the capacity of cultivating a sense of delicacy. The term delicacy, when Hume uses it, refers to the condition of one’s mental faculties as they can improve their attention to fine detail and consequently, obtain a rich perception when viewing all the complexities of an artwork. As Hume states, “Strong sense, united to delicate sentiment, improved by practice, perfected by comparison, and cleared of all prejudice, can alone entitle critics to this valuable character…” (Hume 264). This quote illustrates the character that results from one’s practice of separating their thoughts in a way that allows for clear judgments. However, it takes a lot of practice to reach this level of mental sophistication because one can become susceptible to being misled by their prejudices in a direction that ignores the subtle elements of a piece of art, which would indicate their level of delicacy. Furthermore, the difference between sentiment and judgment is that the former can always be right because it has no reference to anything beyond itself, while the latter cannot always be right. This is so because judgments do have reference to things beyond itself but don’t always conform. With these two terms in mind, one can understand how the

The idea of clarifying one’s mind when viewing art makes sense when trying to formulate a standard of taste. I agree with Hume concerning the nature of judgments because prejudices will influence one’s convictions of art by clouding their sense of reason with misleading thought patterns. Additionally, it is essential for one to be aware of their sentiments because they guide one towards understanding their inclinations. As Hume states, “Where the organs are so fine, as to allow nothing to escape them; and at the same time so exact as to perceive every ingredient in the composition: This we call delicacy of taste…” (Hume 260). This quote articulates the condition of one’s mental faculties, where they can see into the complex elements of art and do it with a level of preciseness. Henceforth, a standard of taste is necessary for tidying up the various views of art that people