This book is the first collection of essays to discuss Oscar Wilde's love and vast knowledge of philosophy. Over the past few decades, Oscar Wilde scholars have become increasingly aware of Wilde's love and intimate knowledge of philosophy. Wilde's Oxford Notebooks and his soon-to-be-published Notebook on Philosophy all point to Wilde not just as an aesthete, but also as a serious philosophical thinker.

The aim of this collection is not to make the statement that Wilde was a philosopher, or that his works were philosophical tracts. Rather, it provides a space to explore any and all linkages between Wilde's works and philosophical thought. Addressing a broad spectrum of philosophical matter, from classical philology to Daoism, ethics to aestheticism, this collection enriches the literature on Wilde and philosophy alike.

Represents the first collection devoted to the study of philosophy in Oscar Wilde. Shows how philosophy influenced the work of Wilde. Addresses a broad spectrum of philosophical topics.

Autorentext
Michael Y. Bennett is Associate Professor of English and affiliated faculty in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He has authored four books exploring drama and philosophy, and has also edited four book collections (two on Oscar Wilde). His latest book, Analytic Philosophy and the World of the Play, is forthcoming in 2017.

Inhalt

1. Introduction.- 2. Wilde at Oxford: A Truce with Facts.- 3. Oscar Wilde's Philosophy of History.- 4. Even Things That Are True Can Be Proved: Oscar Wilde on Argument.- 5. Oscar Wilde: as Daoist Sage.- 6. Homo Ludens: Oscar Wilde's Philosophy.- 7. The Figure of the Jew as Key to Oscar Wilde's Aesth-Ethos.- 8. Wilde Thoughts on Philosophical Reference in 'An Ideal Husband': "An Ideal versus The Ideal Husband.- 9. Oscar Wilde and G. F. Hegel: The Wildean Fairy Tale as Postcolonial Dialectic