Of the Standard of Taste
by David Hume
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1757
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 25 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendEssays Moral, Political, and LiteraryLiberty Fund, 1987Miller's edition prints the essay in the form Hume left it, alongside Of Tragedy and the other later essays.
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A short essay from Four Dissertations on a problem Hume sets himself: beauty is no quality in things but a sentiment in the mind, which seems to make all tastes equal, yet no one really thinks Ogilby as good a poet as Milton. Hume answers that although sentiment cannot be argued with directly, some sentiments are the product of better instruments. He describes the qualifications of a true judge, which are delicacy of imagination, practice, comparison, freedom from prejudice and good sense, and takes the joint verdict of such critics across time as the standard, allowing for the unavoidable differences of temperament and of age.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Of the Standard of Taste are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.