First Question on Hume

Are we really in need of a standard of taste?  Can people not just judge art however they feel?  Is that not what art is for?


To an extent, I suppose.  Art is subjective; people are going to derive their own feelings from a piece of art no matter what, and like Hume states, we cannot say they are wrong.  However, I do believe that in order to properly view art, one must erase all prejudices that they have before judging, just like Hume says.  Going in with a bias right off the bat is definitely going to cloud our judgement on how we view a piece of art.  I also agree with Hume on the premise that we should not confine ourselves to a single genre of art.  There is a wide variety of art and art mediums out there that we should all experience, and it would be silly to close off our minds to them.


Now, these are just my opinions.  Unlike Hume, I don't feel a standard of taste is necessary.  I did say "to an extent", but that is because I feel that a standard of taste would be best, not mandatory.  We should go about looking at art in this way, but we don't need to.  People will always have biases, and that cannot be stopped.  The best that we can hope for is to maybe convince them to look at art without bias, but if they don't, then it is up to us who can do this to ignore their bias and not let it become our own.  Art is indeed their to provoke feeling, and people have the right to perceive it and judge it however they want; that is what art is for.  For me, I'd like to examine a piece of art for what it is before allowing my emotions to take over, then I will allow myself to make a judgment, deriving from bias or not.