On The Standard Of Taste

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On the standard of taste, David Hume describes an aesthetic judgment as not really a judgment at all, but a matter of sentiment upon the basis of being agreeable and/ or pleasurable. This sentiment is always real, and has a reference to nothing beyond its own self, so we are not making plain judgments about the quality of something (257). Taste is based on a feeling (sentiment), and a feeling is a personal response, therefore there is no objective beauty if taste is a matter of sentiment. Since beauty isn’t even a quality in things themselves, and sentiments give rise to different opinions, this leads us to a theory of aesthetic relativism; relativism in which we find that conscious activity, perceptions and influences are varied and individual.
Since every one has their own opinion of what is good and what is bad, Hume directs his concerns in determining who is right based on the aspects of “taste”. Hume states that there must be a standard of taste in which an audience can adhere to. A rule by which the various sentiments of men may become reconciled would be the standard in virtue. A rule in art with relating sentiments could become the standard of taste by a bringing of common response. There are types of rules that bring a certain conformity or relation between the object and the organs or faculties of the mind (258). This rule can take on two different aspects, one in composition and the other in criticism. In each of these cases, the rule links a particular response with an aesthetic quality or the way of composing art. For a musician, a more pleasurable effect could be to expand on different chord changes, or to not stay in one key. For the critic, the rule might take shape as to say that a consistent key would not please a good critic. In Hume’s way of defining elements of the standard of taste, he pushes the act of how to be an audience, which will entail into being a good critic of art with the parall...