Explaining the Concept of Taste According to Hume in the Horizon of the Institutional Theory of Art

David Hume's reflections on aesthetics and the standard of taste, as well as George Dickie's philosophy of art presented in the form of the “Institutional Theory of Art”, are both based on a social and sociological origin. According to Hume, the standard of correctness of aesthetic judgments is the joint verdict of true judges, which is true and correct in all circumstances due to the lack of defects in the faculty of taste. The institutional theory of art was presented in the middle of the 20th century, focusing on the necessity of redefining the boundary between art and non-art. A theory according to which, granting the dignity of art to an artificial object is done by a person or persons who act on behalf of the artworld as a social institution, and their judgment in granting dignity to an artificial object, in order to evaluate or honor it as a work of art compared to other opinions, is generally accepted and has authority due to its continuous connection with the artworld and delicacy. As a result, the main question of the research is to explore the importance of consensus on issuing aesthetic judgments and valuing works of art on the one hand, and explaining the distinction between art and non-art on the other hand, according to “true judges” and “qualified” people. This research, which was carried out using the comparative method and its data was collected in a library manner, first studies the concept of judgment of taste and then evaluates the relationship between Hume's aesthetics and the institutional theory of art.