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Unit 20: David Hume-Of Essay Writing ...

Discrepancy Notes
The apparent consensus in words expressing aesthetic attitudes stands in stark contrast with a
seeming disagreement in words expressing our ordinary or theoretical views about reality. Upon
examination, however, we realize that they are in fact reversed. In this regard, the apparent
differences in taste and opinion prove to be deeper where they appear lesser and the other way
round. Here is how they differ:

Resolution
Differences in opinion (belief) could be in many cases resolved by clarifying the language (purely
verbal disagreements) and resorting to the facts. In science we can advance different theories
(paradigms) to account for the phenomena (for instance the corpuscular or the wave theory of
light) but we can disagree only temporarily about the facts. For example, what is the tallest
building in the world?
In contrast, disagreements in taste typically become greater once the illusion of verbal agreement
from general discourse is replaced by a closer scrutiny of facts. After we check the reference of
generally accepted aesthetic terms we realize that our appreciation of these facts is different. All
people value beauty and regard ugliness as repulsive but they disagree what objects are beautiful
and what are ugly.Beauty is not something rational (size and order) or objective (beauty in itself)
but only an effect on the mind.
The arts as the object of taste have many more things in common with morals than with the
sciences. The arts and morals are both more grounded in sentiments than in reason. The verbal
unanimity is not a result of universal reasoning but a sheer effect of the inner logic of language.
This is why both art and morality accept universal precepts while hopelessly differing in practical
application. The following table details the similarities between art and morality as well as their
common opposition to science. In science language creates apparent disagreements while in art it
creates apparent agreements.

Hume does not see a big difference between artistic and moral values. What as a
pleasurable sentiment translates in approbation in taste closely corresponds to the
sentiment of approbation within our heart: “virtue is whatever mental action or quality
gives a spectator the pleasing sentiment of approbation”.

Moral Unanimity
The unanimity in morals is also more apparent than real. The apparent universality of moral
principles is commonly ascribed to the workings of human reason. In reality, its source is the
inculcated positive validation of certain terms (virtues: justice, humanity, magnanimity, prudence,
veracity).
However, the content and the application of these terms may be very different; so much so that
sometimes they represent a kind of relations that are called contrarieties (for instance, black and
white). Thus it is conceivable that the content of the above virtues, if transferred to another
culture, could be regarded as injustice, inhumanity, stinginess, imprudence and mendacity.
Example 1: Homer’s general moral precepts are similar to Fenelon’s, but the morality of their
heroes is different as it could be. For instance, Homer praises the heroism of Achilles and the
prudence of Odysseus (Ulysses) as general virtues. But this type of heroism contains a lot of
cruelty while the prudence of Odysseus borders with fraud and slyness.

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