Is every appreciation of a work of art equally valid?
Introduction
There are two contradictory aspects when it comes to the judgement of taste: on the one hand, judgements of taste are subjective and personal to each viewing subject. Yet, at the same time, it can be said that there is - on the whole - broader agreement regarding the appreciation of art. These opposing statements have divided theorists on taste; some (for example, Clive Bell) have tended towards the notion of taste as private and paticular whilst others, although accepting the subjective nature of judgements of taste, claim that there is some degree of universality in judgements of taste. Kant and Hume absorbed this latter notion - Kant claiming that aesthetic experience involved the free play of the cognitive faculties of imagination and understanding, and thus that all human beings capable of cognition/knowledge were also capable of aesthetic experience. In particular, he discussed the property of beauty, claiming that all beautiful objects demanded universal ascent to their beauty. discussed Thus, it follows that - according to Kant - judgements of taste are universal as all normal human minds are the same in structure and function, Kant believed that judgements of taste to be universal - for all works of art one immediately assumed universal agreement. He believed thatwere capable of aesthetic experience and thus that there was subjective universal agreement regarding judgements of taste, whilst Hume took the empiricist approach, stating that - although tastes differed from person to person - those works of art of the highest quality would be universally recognised, thus withstanding the test of time and across cultures.
Concerns judgements of taste.
Kant, Hume and Bell - all rooted in the formalist tradition.
All speak of taste as a form of aesthetic perception that involves a peculiar subjective feeling. Furthermore, all generally agree that it is this feeling which defines a... [continues]
Introduction
There are two contradictory aspects when it comes to the judgement of taste: on the one hand, judgements of taste are subjective and personal to each viewing subject. Yet, at the same time, it can be said that there is - on the whole - broader agreement regarding the appreciation of art. These opposing statements have divided theorists on taste; some (for example, Clive Bell) have tended towards the notion of taste as private and paticular whilst others, although accepting the subjective nature of judgements of taste, claim that there is some degree of universality in judgements of taste. Kant and Hume absorbed this latter notion - Kant claiming that aesthetic experience involved the free play of the cognitive faculties of imagination and understanding, and thus that all human beings capable of cognition/knowledge were also capable of aesthetic experience. In particular, he discussed the property of beauty, claiming that all beautiful objects demanded universal ascent to their beauty. discussed Thus, it follows that - according to Kant - judgements of taste are universal as all normal human minds are the same in structure and function, Kant believed that judgements of taste to be universal - for all works of art one immediately assumed universal agreement. He believed thatwere capable of aesthetic experience and thus that there was subjective universal agreement regarding judgements of taste, whilst Hume took the empiricist approach, stating that - although tastes differed from person to person - those works of art of the highest quality would be universally recognised, thus withstanding the test of time and across cultures.
Concerns judgements of taste.
Kant, Hume and Bell - all rooted in the formalist tradition.
All speak of taste as a form of aesthetic perception that involves a peculiar subjective feeling. Furthermore, all generally agree that it is this feeling which defines a... [continues]
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