ABSTRACT
Philosophical rigor notwithstanding, James Beattie's awareness of cognitive matters is already implied in the essay's title, effecting changes in the beliefs and opinions concerning the reception of art. In Aberdeen, Beattie belonged to a group of scholars centered around the philosopher Thomas Reid, whose main concern was to refute Hume's skepticism. In contradistinction to Hume who based his theory of knowledge on the subjectivity of perceptions, Reid believed in a necessary connection between sensations and objects and in the immediacy with which the mind reacts to that with which it is presented. Defending Reid's theory of knowledge (to which he devoted his essay) Beattie unfortunately propagates the criticism hurled against his master. As for his own aesthetic ideas, it seems that his colleagues played a constructive role in their final formation, as Beattie informs the reader in the introductory remark to his essay on music and poetry.
