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

Rules: In a nutshell, his solution is: There are general rules but they are all empirical and contingent. Notes
They are more a summary of what pleases than an explanation of what constitutes good art.
Therefore they are not universally binding.
Note: Unfortunately, Hume does not give a single example of these rules and principles that
would allow us to get a grasp of their nature. As some authors have noticed, he proceeds as if they
do not really exist or in fact are not really rules.
Compromise Anyway, he defines his position on these rules by means of the following four
statements:
1. Rules exist.
2. They are empirical (experiential not logical).
3. They are general (comprising all cultures and all ages).
4. But they are based on sentiments (that what pleases overall).
As irregularities can please (falsehood, metaphor, perversion), exact rules do not work in art. As
far as the source and nature of these rules are concerned, Hume rejects the rationalist theory of
their origin and adopts a thoroughly empirical view. The contrast between what he regards as the
real rules and those that are commonly envisioned but not existent could be represented in the
following way:
1. Rules of Composition Real Illusionary
2. Origin Experience Reasoning a priori
3. Status General Observation Abstract Conclusions / Exactness
4. Validation Factual Pleasure Eternal Norms
If the standard of taste is based on experience and derived from the observations of common
sentiments then the supposed “rules of compositions” cannot be but sheer empirical generalizations
of what is accepted. All the more so as they are not necessary. What matters is whether something
pleases or not, for pleasant sentiments decide ultimately what should count as a rule.
Exactness Owing to their empirical nature the rules do not apply geometrically and in a formulaic
manner. The role of art criticism is not to enforce these rules mechanically by suppressing any
departure from them. A work composed exactly according to a steady canon of hard rules would
be dull and unconvincing. The Middle These admonitions resemble Aristotle’s statements on the
right method of ethics. It seems that Hume has transferred some of these ideas into the realm of
aesthetics (right measure, lack of scientific exactness, need to create the right disposition and
identify the right situation for judging, etc.)
• Poetry Geometric Exactness General Rules
• Possession Not Yes
• Nature Scientific Observation Genius
Genius If there are some rules they should be binding, that is to say, we need to see them defining
taste. Still Hume insists that the rules discovered by acute observation are binding for poetry. But
he does not state a single one that could be tested as binding. On the contrary, he says that we
cannot engineer any great art by simply following the rules. On the other hand he allows that they
could be discovered by inspiration (genius) as well. Hume was too much of a connoisseur not to
realize that art emerges in a creative and innovative way.
Genius and taste were the privileged topics of the 18th century aesthetics. It is noteworthy that
Hume allows the possibility of a shortcut in the painstaking empirical process of ascertaining the
rule - it is a possibility open to exceptional creators or individuals with a true taste.
Expressions: Throughout the essay Hume uses several expressions when speaking about these
rules. They indicate both the various aspects of these rules as well as his uncertainty about their
true status. These are his main four phrases with their prevalent significations:

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