David Hume on Art and Aesthetics
- When
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- Language
- English
- Organizer
- Stockholm Philosophy Study Group
We return to David Hume, this time turning to three of his essays on art and aesthetics. Hume (1711–1776) was a central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and while he is best known today for his epistemology and his moral philosophy, he thought of himself first and foremost as an essayist and historian. These essays show that side of him: short, elegant, and written for the educated public rather than the seminar room. In the essays, Hume explores questions like, how can taste be subjective and yet some judgements clearly be better than others? Why is sorrow, so unwelcome in life, a pleasure at the theatre? And what is the societal value of art? Together the three essays give us Hume the aesthetician alongside Hume the social theorist. The essays we will read are Of Tragedy Of the standards of Taste and Of Refinements in the Arts All three essays add up to roughly 45 pages in total. They can be found free online via the links above. Come join us as we ask whether there is any such thing as good taste! * * * Stockholm Philosophy Study group is a group for thoughtful discussion on philosophical topics. Everyone is welcome regardless of previous philosophical experience, but we would like everyone you to read the text ahead of time as the conversation will revolve around it. This is a space were we learn from and listen to each other, our focus is on deliberation, not debate. If we are a large group, remember to leave room for everybody's voices to be heard. We read all sorts of philosophical texts, some are easier and some are difficult. If you don't understand everything, don't worry, we will make sense of it together. Our meetups are at a public café, so if you participate, please buy something from the café to support them. Please note that this is a cross-post for an event being arranged via the Discord server. Discussion between meetups happens on Discord, and this group may be unmonitored. If you join the server you also get to vote on our coming readings, so please consider joining. Hope to see you at the meetup!