On Hume’s Of the Standard of Taste

No matter how people happen to belong to the same circumstances in life, their judgments will not exactly be alike. That’s the reason why there’s no wrong and right in criticisms, right? There’s just better and worse or strong and weak critics. That’s why I agree with Hume.
I also believe that there has to be balance in the way we judge things. One cannot fully rely on sentiments alone or reason alone. It has to be a mixture of both. Of course, we all have our own way of seeing things but I believe since we are human beings we all have conscience that somehow influence our taste. Hume insists on moral judgment, and I take his notion. It is not enough to say for art’s sake. It also has to be appropriate.

People set standards but sometimes it is tainted with prejudice. There’s really no universal basis. What pleases one, might be hideous to another…One is not better than the other, it’s just that there are different ways of seeing things. Standards are recommendations not requirements.

On Burke's Sublime

I used to associate the word sublime to something divine, or to something that brings pleasure to our senses. Finding out that terror conduces sublimity was definitely a fresh idea that I was introduced to. Reading Burke's The Sublime gave remedy to some of the puzzlements that 's been lingering in my mind. Like, my wondering about why my little brother is fond of watching National Geographic's Seconds from Disaster and Air Crash Investigation where you see buildings collapse, tsunami, rockets explosions, volcanic eruptions, and other disasters where a number of people dies. Now, it's no longer too murky to fathom this fancy my brother has over seeing things destroyed. As Burke said,"whatever therefore is terrible, with regard to sight is sublime too." The 9/11 event can be an example of sublimity. I got to watch the live coverage, the breaking news at CNN, and the moment I saw it I was astonished as what Burke said you became consumed. It was like watching a movie with amazing special effects yet more intense since it's real. Thus, even horrifying events like those are sublime too since they make you feel astounded. It also explains my short-lived addiction to horror flicks, why I still love watching horror flicks even though I get in trouble sleeping at night.

Obscurity. Our ignorance to something or someone led us to believe that that certain thing or person is supreme. Mystery is exciting, it stirs our interest. I definitely agree with what Burke said about obscurity in relation to sublimity. We usually don't like movies with predictable stories aren't we? Seeing UFOs brings awe to us since we don't know what they are. People fear death for no one knows for sure what happens next. The terrifying, the obscure arouse a higher degree of emotions compared to pleasant things and have this impact or power over us which absolutely makes sense to say that they are indeed sublime.

Entering the Realm of Beauty

A couple of times I have said oh that is beautiful, or she is so beautiful, so I can say I am very much accustomed with the word beauty. ..but how come when we were asked to write what is beauty I suddenly didn't know what it is? Of course, the wear out adage that says beauty is in the eye of the beholder crossed my mind, but I didn't consider it to express how I believe beauty should be. There has to be something in that object or in that person too that makes us say it's beautiful but I really don't know what it is at that moment so I just wrote beauty is something that brings pleasure to those who see, hear, experience, smell, touch that certain thing... It's the most I can say then.

So after having a brief introduction to the realm of aesthetics is there something more for me to say? Well, there were moments of "uhh, he's right, that's an idea that I have but I couldn't express it," "nice one I haven't realized that," and there were also "I don't think so moments."I totally agree with what Burke said that astonishment is what you feel when you see something sublime. That's the word. Whenever something or even someone which/who is beautiful or sublime comes my way the world suddenly stops and everything else just fades away. It sends chills on your spine so kinda like what he said that terror contributes to sublimity. But I am not really sure about finding beauty in something you fear. Maybe in the case of the handsome Dracula, or Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire, or Lestat in Queen of the Damned (haha).