From Esthetic to Ethical Hedonism: A Paradigm Shift in Oscar Wilde’s Moral Philosophy

Linus O. Akudolu, Charles N. Okolie, Ifeanyi Okeke, Francis Ofoegbu, Vitalis C. Ugwu, Valentine N. Ojiegbe, Esther Ogbu

Abstract

Oscar Wilde’s emphasis on estheticism gives him a negative image as a man of pleasure. Yes, he could be a lover of pleasure but his moral philosophy was not esthetic hedonism as many believe. This work, through a hermeneutic interpretation and philosophical analysis of the contents of his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, his confessions and repentance argue that his true moral philosophy is ethical hedonism. It insists that even if he was formerly an esthetic hedonist; there was a paradigm shift from the former to the later. The implications of such a shift were also identified in this research.

 

Keywords: Oscar Wilde, estheticism, hedonism, ethics, Dorian Gray.

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.62.1


Full Text:

PDF


References


ADUT, A. (2005). A Theory of Scandal: Victorians, Homosexuality, and the Fall of Oscar Wilde. American Journal of Sociology 111(1), pp. 213-248. https://doi.org/10.1086/428816

ARISTOTLE. (1976). The Nichomachean Ethics. London: Penguin Classics.

ARNOLD, M. (2007). Culture and Anarchy. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman, pp. 276-279.

BECKER-LECKRONE, M. (2000). Oscar Wilde (1854–1900): Esthetic and Criticism. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Modern Criticism and Theory, 20, pp. 658-665.

BECKSON, K. (2003). Oscar Wilde. London: Routledge.

BELFORD, B. (2000). Oscar Wilde: A Certain Genius. New York: Random House.

BREEN, R. (2000). Oxford, Oddfellows & Funny Tales. London: Penny Publishing Limited.

BURDETT, C. (2014). Aestheticism and Decadence. Discovery Literature: Romantics and Victorians. https://www.bl.uk/romantics-andvictorians/articles/aestheticsm-and-decadence

CRAFT, C. (2005). Come See About Me: Enchantment of the Double in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Representations, 91, pp. 109-136.

DENNEY, C. (2000). At the Temple of Art: the Grosvenor Gallery, 1877-1890, Issue 1165, 38, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.

DUGGAN, P. (2008-2009). Aestheticism and Morality in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Journal of Arts and Science Writing Programme, 1, pp. 60-68. Boston University Arts and Sciences. https://www.bu.edu/writingprogram/files/2009/11/wrjournal1duggan.pdf

ELMAN, R. (1988). Oscar Wilde. New York: Alfred A. Knopf

FARGIS, P. (1998). The New York Public Library Desk Reference, 3rd Edition. London: Macmillan.

HOLLAND, M., & HART-DAVIS, R. (2000) The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde, US edition. New York: Henry Holt and Company LLC.

HOLLAND, M. (Ed.) (2003). The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. London: Harper Collins.

HOLLAND, M. (2004). The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde. Harpers Collins Publishers. Google books

HUNTER, N. (2021). Oscar Wilde’s Surprising Spirituality. U.S. Catholic. https://uscatholic.org/articles/202110/oscar-wildea-surprising-spirituality

JULIA, J, SUPRIYADI, T, and ISWARA, P.D. (2022). Development of Religious Character of the Nation through learning Religious Songs: Teacher’s Perception and Challenges. Harmonia: Journal of Arts, Research and Education 22 (1), pp. 103-118. https://doi.org/10.15294/harmonia.v22i1.35031

MASON, S. (1972) [1914]. Bibliography of Oscar Wilde. Rota Pub; Haskell House Pub.

MATSUOKA, M. (2003). Aestheticism and Social Anxiety in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Journal of Esthetic Education 29, pp. 77-100.

MCCRACKEN, A. (2003). The Long Conversion of Oscar Wilde. Catholic Education Resource Center https://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/literature/the-long-conversion-of-oscar-wilde.html

MENDELSSOHN, M. (2018). Making Oscar Wilde. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

PEARCE, J. (2004). The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde. NY: Ignatius Press, 2004.

STERN, S. (2017). Wilde’s Obscenity Effect: Influence and Immorality in The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Review of English Studies 68(286), pp. 756-772. https://doi.org/10.1093/res/hgx035

SUHARTO, S. (2018). Banyumas People’s Characteristics Symbolically Reflected on Calung Performance. Harmonia: Journal of Arts, Research and Education, 18 (1), pp. 82-96. https://doi.org/10.5294/harmonia.v18i1.11570

STUMPF, S. E. (1994). Philosophy: History and Problems. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.

STURGIS, M. (2018). Oscar: A Life. London: Head of Zeus Ltd.

TWELVE, M. (2022). Oscar Wilde. Wikipedia. https://wn.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/oscar_wilde

WHEATCROFT, G. (2003). Not Green, Not Red, Not Pink. The Atlantic Monthly. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/05/not-green-not-red-not-pink/302729/

WILDE, O. (2007). The Picture of Dorian Gray. Ed. Andrew Elfenbein. NY: Pearson Longman.

WILDE, O. (2012). The Soul of Man under Socialism. Berlin: Edward Viesel Media

WILDE, O. (2021). De Profundis. Excellence in Literature by Janice Campbell. https://www.excellence-in-literature.com/de-profundis-by-oscar-wilde

WILDE, O. (2007-2022). De Profundis. Oscar Wilde Online. https://www.wilde.online.info/de-profundis-page.html


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.