Oscar Wilde Hedonism

Throughout mankind, there have been plenty of time where disobedience has lead to  greater changes for humanity. Author Oscar Wilde once stated “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history. Is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience and rebellion.” Wilde’s statement claims that disobedience is a trait that every human possesses, disobedience is the reason society is so developed. As history has shown us, humans have never been satisfied when there is a higher power over them. For this reason, it is through disobedience and rebellion that social progress has been made.

Hedonism is the idea that well-being of people comes about through pleasure. Pure hedonism is the thought that it arises through and only through pleasure and both Bentham and Mill advocate different approaches for which hedonism may be the basis of human well-being. Both Philosophers then go on to construct theories of morality on the basis of this idea such that what should be maximised in a moral dilemma is the cumulative welfare of all individuals as measured by their particular approach for deciphering which course of action will yield the most well-being for all. However, the focus of

This movie can show some of the falsities of hedonism. We can prove this because Phil’s actions aren’t bringing him any happiness even if he was doing things that should bring people joy. So hedonist’s belief that happiness is the only thing matters is false because this movie shows that Phil is a pretty awful person and doesn’t experience much happiness in him life yet he would say that he lives a pretty good life. Phil’s looped life definitely included some evil pleasures, like when he was eating as much as he could, smoking, and stealing. He could do these things and feel good about it because whatever he chose to do it wouldn’t have any effect on him or the worlds around him.

Nagel provides a complete a thorough argument against the hedonist position by explaining that one can be harmed without suffering, one can suffer post-mortem, and it is not the bad nor the good momentary conscious experiences that judge our lives but our projects, goals, ambitions, history, and possibility.

Hedonism is one of the oldest of philosophical theories, dating back to the ancient Greeks. As Schafer-Landau (2015) explained, “Epicurus (341-270 BCE), the first great hedonist, argued that pleasure was the only thing

Morgane Bensadoun The Importance Of Being Hypocritical Ideals are only as ideal as the advocate's moral conduct. Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is a comedic play that explores the convoluted beliefs of Victorian society through the use of satire. Wilde uses a satirical lens to examine not only the pretenses that typify Victorian culture but to explicate the fundamentals of the characters.

Homoeroticism and Defiance of Victorian Values in Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Mr. W.H. Oscar Wilde once satirically said, "Arguments are extremely vulgar, for everybody in good society holds exactly the same opinions. " Rather than hold the same opinions as those in good Victorian society, he boldly challenges them. Oscar Wilde parallels the relationships of Shakespeare, Michelangelo and other revered historical intellectuals with his relationship to Lord Alfred Douglas in his work, The Portrait of Mr. W.H., and during his criminal trial. Through these parallels, Wilde attempts to normalize and justify his homosexuality in a time of rampant homophobia, forcing the examination of self-expression, through writing and speech, as a tool of defiance.

I believe Daniel Haybron’s critique of Hedonism, ‘Happiness and Pleasure’ is rationally compelling. It paints a vivid yet unbiased picture of hedonist theories, carefully explaining the doctrine as well as the three major forms of hedonism. These are psychological hedonism, evaluative or ethical hedonism, and reflective or rationalizing hedonism. After this explanation, Haybron explores the faults with hedonism, specifically that there are many factors that go into one’s happiness, rather than the basic and seemingly instinctual search for gratification through pleasure. These can be physical, intellectual, and emotional. This shows that happiness is, in fact, a multidimensional, almost bottomless concept. He then goes on to provide alternate theories that are perhaps more fitting in

At first glance, Oscar Wilde’s works The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and The Importance of Being Earnest seem quite disparate. The first is horror, while the latter two are comedies; the first is a novel, while the latter two are plays; the list of the differences between the works could continue. The striking thing about these works, however, is that despite their differences, Wilde manages to unify their themes. Wilde uses the symbolism in each work—images of self in The Picture of Dorian Gray, the fan in Lady Windermere’s Fan, and the use of names in The Importance of Being Earnest—to collectively criticize Victorian morality.

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on October 16th, 1854 in Dublin, Ireland to Sir William Wilde, an oto-ophtalmologic surgeon and Jane Wilde, a poet who wrote under the pen name “Speranza.” He was the second of three children and as a child his mother would read her poetry to him and his brother, instilling in him his initial love of poetry. In 1871 Wilde left home with a royal scholarship to read classics at Trinity College, Dublin where he shared a room with his older brother Willie. There he would meet his “first and best teacher” J.P. Mahaffy. In 1874 Wilde won a demyship to Magdalene College, Oxford. While at Oxford he joined

Wilde’s mother was a writer for an Irish newspaper, and was a linguist who translated famous works. Growing up in a time where literature was accessible to all of the people, Wilde could see the importance of writing from a very early age. His works were heavily influenced by his personal life and his values. Wilde appreciated a lavish lifestyle, and had an affair with Lord Alfred ‘Bosie’ Douglas. This affair got him thrown in jail for two years, which drained him of the life he had before.

Everyone has been selfish at one point in their life and has found that selfishness leads to regret. However, everyone has their own choice to be selfish or selfless. Oscar Wilde's, The Selfish Giant, used transformations to emphasize how age, seasons, and emotions show how selfishness can change to selflessness by ones struggles.

In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde the eponymous character Dorian follows the lifestyle of New Hedonism. This lifestyle advocates a complete abandon to your impulses, and does not believe in following social dictates or morals. The book illustrates the long-term effects of new hedonism, showing the destruction and death Dorian creates due to following this creed, eventually leading him to complete madness and his own destruction.

During Oscar Wilde’s life, the practices and standards of society heavily conflicted with his personal beliefs and stances. Wilde’s prevalent homoeroticism during a time in which homosexuality was socially unacceptable, served as unassailable evidence in his conviction. Ultimately, the inclusion of such passages resulted in his imprisonment. The necessity to disguise and conceal his homosexuality led to Wilde’s criticism of the need for social facades. He, therefore, used his works, The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest, as a means to convey his true feelings and beliefs and to criticize and satirize the shallowness and superficiality of the society in which he lived. Oscar Wilde condemns the suffocating and superficial standards of Victorian era society by displaying and denouncing the absurdity of social facades.

The novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde first published in 1890 deals with Dorian Gray a young beautiful man who sits for a full-length portrait, drawn by the artist Basil Hallward. Basil is fascinated by Dorians beauty and sees him as his muse and the reason his art got a new expression. Sitting for the portrait Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton, a friend of Basil with a quite hedonistic philosophy. Lord Henry is known to influence people a lot and sees Dorian as the perfect ideal to life his hedonistic philosophy, although Basil begs him not to influence Dorian, Dorian and Lord Henry soon get friends and Lord Henry teaches Dorian all the things that are important in life: beauty and pleasure. After their first conversation in Basil’s studio Dorian wishes his beauty