A Philosophical Inquiry of Beauty

This book explores whether an objective standard of beauty exists and, if so, how we can access that standard in judging a work of art as beautiful or deformed. It is informed by a close reading of David Hume''s "Of the Standard of Taste." According to Hume, beauty is a sentiment or feeling that arises whenever certain qualities present themselves to us in works of art. Not all individuals, however, are equally capable of discerning these qualities. Just as the taste of oak in a glass of wine may be imperceptible to all but the most discerning of palates, the qualities that distinguish a great work of art may be no less elusive. Hume''s aesthetic theory, therefore, gives special prominence to the art critic (or, in his words, the "True Judge"), who alone is able to discern and make manifest such qualities in novel works of art. This book attempts to grapple with the merits (and limitations) of Hume''s theory.