Taste and Experience in Eighteenth-Century British Aesthetics : The Move Toward Empiricism

"Taste and Experience in Eighteenth Century Aesthetics acknowledges theories of taste, beauty, the fine arts, genius, expression, the sublime and the picturesque in their own right, distinct from later theories of an exclusively aesthetic kind of experience. By drawing on a wealth of thinkers, including several marginalised philosophers, Dabney Townsend presents a novel reading of the century to challenge our understanding of art and move towards a unique way of thinking about aesthetics. Speaking of a proto-aesthetic, Townsend surveys theories of taste and beauty arising from the empiricist shift in philosophy. A proto-aesthetic was shaped by the philosophers who followed Locke and accepted that theories of taste and beauty must be products of experience alone. Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Alexander Gerard and Thomas Reid were among the most important advocates, joined by others who re-thought traditional topics. Featuring chapters tracing its philosophical principles, issues raised by the subjectivity of the empiricist approach and the more academic proto-aesthetic formed toward the end of the century, Townsend argues that Lockean empiricism laid the foundations for what we now call aesthetics"-- Provided by the publisher "Taste and Experience in Eighteenth Century Aesthetics acknowledges theories of taste, beauty, the fine arts, genius, expression, the sublime and the picturesque in their own right, distinct from later theories of an exclusively aesthetic kind of experience. By drawing on a wealth of thinkers, including several marginalised philosophers, Dabney Townsend presents a novel reading of the century to challenge our understanding of art and move towards a unique way of thinking about aesthetics. Speaking of a proto-aesthetic, Townsend surveys theories of taste and beauty arising from the empiricist shift in philosophy. A proto-aesthetic was shaped by the philosophers who followed Locke and accepted that theories of taste and beauty must be products of experience alone. Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Alexander Gerard and Thomas Reid were among the most important advocates, joined by others who re-thought traditional topics. Featuring chapters tracing its philosophical principles, issues raised by the subjectivity of the empiricist approach and the more academic proto-aesthetic formed toward the end of the century, Townsend argues that Lockean empiricism laid the foundations for what we now call aesthetics."-- Fourni par l'éditeur Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Introduction 8 1 The Empiricist Move in Aesthetics: Locke and Shaftesbury 14 2 Francis Hutcheson: The Sense of Taste 30 3 Hume: The Priority of Sentiment 42 4 Associationism: David Hartley and Joseph Priestley 54 5 Theories of Taste 70 6 Problems of Taste: The Tragic Paradox and a Standard of Taste 84 7 Genius 110 8 The Sublime: Baillie and Burke 124 9 The Picturesque 140 10 Thomas Reid and the Theory of Taste 160 11 Archibald Alison: Experience and Expression 184 12 Dugald Stewart: Beauty and Taste Again 196 A Conclusion in which Nothing is Concluded 208 Notes 212 Introduction 212 1 The Empiricist Move in Aesthetics: Locke and Shaftesbury 213 2 Francis Hutcheson: The Sense of Taste 214 3 Hume: The Priority of Sentiment 216 4 Associationism: David Hartley and Joseph Priestley 218 5 Theories of Taste 220 6 Problems of Taste: The Tragic Paradox and a Standard of Taste 222 7 Genius 225 8 The Sublime: Baillie and Burke 227 9 The Picturesque 229 10 Thomas Reid and the Theory of Taste 232 11 Archibald Alison: Experience and Expression 236 12 Dugald Stewart: Beauty and Taste Again 237 A Conclusion in which Nothing is Concluded 238 Bibliography 240 Index 248