Single Idea 23663

[catalogued under 21. Aesthetics / A. Aesthetic Experience / 3. Taste]

Full Idea

I think there are axioms, even in matters of taste. …I never heard of any man who thought it a beauty in a human face to want a nose, or an eye, or to have the mouth on one side.

Gist of Idea

There are axioms of taste - such as a general consensus about a beautiful face

Source

Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 6: Judgement [1785], 6)

Book Reference

Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.285


A Reaction

It is hard to disagree, but the human face may be a special case, since it is so deeply embedded in the minds of even the youngest infants. More recent artists seem able to discover beauty in very unlikely places.