The book delves into the connections between David Hume's philosophical work and the empiricist traditions of the eighteenth century, highlighting how these influences shaped the evolution of aesthetics during that period. It offers a rigorous analysis of Hume's ideas in relation to contemporary aesthetic theories, providing insights into the intellectual landscape of the time.
In "Eighteenth Century British Aesthetics", editor Dabney Townsend has brought together the work of such well-known writers as John Dryden, Joshua Reynolds, David Hume, and Samuel Johnson with the more obscure works of aestheticians such as Uvedale Price, Daniel Webb, John Baillie, and James Harris, whose work is difficult to find, but is nonetheless important, informative, and interesting. These twenty-two selections, accompanied by Dabney Townsend's historical essay on the development of eighteenth century aesthetics, make the history of aesthetics accessible to both students and specialists alike.