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The British Journal of Aesthetics 2008 48(1):20-28; doi:10.1093/aesthj/aym042
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© British Society of Aesthetics 2008

Humean Critics: Real or Ideal?

Stephanie Ross

Stephanie Ross, Department of Philosophy, University of Missouri – St Louis, MO, USA. Email: sross{at}umsl.edu


  Abstract

This paper attempts a rational reconstruction of the Humean notion of an ideal critic. Claiming that the traits of practice and comparison can only arise through the gradual accumulation of experience, I argue that Humean critics are real, not ideal. After discussing the nature of perfection and the relation of delicacy to the other Human traits, I propose two supplements to Hume's list: imaginative fluency and emotional responsiveness. I close by examining a trio of challenges to my view and supporting a mitigated aesthetic nonrealism.


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