Free Your Mind: The Role of Disinterested Expertise in Hume and Kant

Written by Michael Black

Everyday countless amounts of people ponder the standard of aesthetic judgment. Whether it is being asked their opinion of Van Gogh's Starry Night or if they prefer beach or mountain scenery, people are constantly relying on their aesthetic judgment. While many people use this judgment everyday, most people do not stop to think how and why they are making the judgment, or even if it is correct. David Hume and Immanuel Kant are two people that did stop to think about the implications of aesthetic judgment, and their respective works, Of the Standard of Taste and Critique of Judgment, are two of the foremost respected philosophical musings on the subject of aesthetic judgment. Hume and Kant's texts are similar in that they see disinterestedness as a key part to the solution for a standard of taste. Unfortunately there is one inherent problem that both Hume and Kant face that is vital towards their arguments, the need for a disinterested expert. Disinterestedness is a key part of aesthetic judgment and both Hume and Kant take different approaches to establish what exactly a disinterested expert would be and how he would be found; however, they are never able to practically give sure reason that the qualifications are indeed possible, and thus do not fully establish a standard of taste and beauty.

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