Jean-baptiste du bos' critical reflections on poetry and painting and hume's treatise

Abstract

It has long been known that Jean-Baptiste Du Bos (and, in particular, his book Critical Reflections on Poetry and Painting) exercised a considerable influence on Hume's essays and, in particular, on the Of the Standard of Taste and Of Tragedy. It has also been noted that some passages in the Treatise bear marks of Du Bos influence. In this essay, we identify many more passages in the Treatise that bear unmistakable signs of Du Bos influence. We demonstrate that Du Bos certainly had a significant impact on Hume as he wrote the Treatise. We go on to argue that Humes views on morality are an extension to the moral realm of Du Bos views on beauty and criticism. Du Bos may also have influenced Hu..