“Under some or other of these imperfections, the generality of men labour; and hence a true judge in the finer arts is observed, even during the most polished ages, to be so rare a character: Strong sense, united to delicate sentiment, improved by practice, perfected by comparison, and cleared of all prejudice, can alone entitle critics to this valuable character; and the joint verdict of such, wherever they are to be found, is the true standard of taste and beauty.” (Hume, 15). This passage stood out to me in this text was how Hume’s understanding of how taste is both subjective but also something that is capable of being changed through education, experience and through comparison. He accepts the fact that people are naturally different when it comes to their preferences, however still goes on to argue about the “standard of taste” that comes forward from professional critics who practice and whose opinions are not prejudiced about their taste. I found this interesting because of how he seems to see both professional perspective and individual perspectives and opinions as well in their judgment of taste. One question I  have about this passage is how do we know that this type of work that lasts for a long time by these critics is not really biased?—–Zebiniso Jalolova

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