THE ARTWORK’S JUDGE: THE LEGACY OF KANT AND HUME IN THE LIGHT OF EMPIRICAL AESTHETICS

Can empirical aesthetics advance the philosophical debate on the judgement of beauty?

Abstract

Recent advances in neuroscientific and psychological research demand a re-evaluation of Hume’s and Kant’s philosophical accounts of aesthetic judgement. While Hume emphasises the role of art experts in establishing a standard of taste, Kant advocates a personal judgement of beauty based on a disinterested feeling of pleasure. Little research has been conducted on the direct empirical support for these theories. Through studying aesthetic judgement, this paper explores the interdisciplinary nexus of empirical philosophy, which seeks to integrate insights of empirical aesthetics to advance the philosophical debate on aesthetic judgement. Empirical findings not only highlight the distinctly separate judgement of beauty of experts and non-experts, but also build on the Kantian legacy, emphasising the role emotion and intuition play in aesthetic judgement.