The true judge of beauty and the paradox of taste

Gaiger, Jason (2000). The true judge of beauty and the paradox of taste. European Journal of Philosophy, 8(1) pp. 1–19.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0378.00098

Abstract

This paper addresses two key works in the eighteenth-century debate on the problem of taste: the Abbé Du Bos's Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture (1719) and David Hume's `Of the Standard of Taste' (1757). A successful solution to the `paradox of taste' should sustain the democratising impulse behind Du Bos's appeal to the judgment of the `public' whilst, at the same time, acknowledging the role of learning and discovery which underpins Hume's recourse to the opinion of the best qualified critics. This can be achieved, it is argued, by taking up a standpoint which is internal to our actual arguments or disputes about art, drawing upon and recommending a set of practices which allow for the development and revision of our judgments about works of art.

Viewing alternatives

Metrics

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats Digital Object Identifier - DOI