Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Preface and Chapters 1-2
Preface
The Preface is a series of epigrams, or concise, witty sayings, that express the major points of Oscar Wilde’s aesthetic philosophy. In short, the epigrams praise beauty and repudiate the notion that art serves a moral purpose.
Chapter One
The novel begins in the elegantly appointed London home of Basil Hallward, a well-known artist. Basil discusses his latest portrait with his friend, the clever and scandalously amoral Lord Henry Wotton.
Read MoreImmanuel Kant: Philosophy and Key Works
Immanuel Kant
1. Life and Works
1.1. Life (Königsberg, 1724 – 1804)
Influenced by the school of Christian rationalism and the skepticism of empiricist David Hume, Kant undertook the task of critically analyzing Reason.
He divided the area of Reason’s capabilities into the areas defined by the following questions:
- What can I know?
- What should I do?
- What may I hope?
- What is man?
1.2. Works
- 1.2.1. First Period: Precritical
- 1.2.2. Second Period: Critical
- Critique of Pure Reason (theoretical) (1781)
- Groundwork of
Christian Philosophy: St. Augustine & Scholasticism
The Middle Ages and the Rise of Christian Philosophy
Ages: The dissolution of the Roman Empire, vividly described by St. Augustine in his book *The City of God*, marked the transition from ancient times to the Middle Ages. The crisis of the ancient world gave way to new principles and values of political and social order. Intellectual activity primarily occurred in churches and monasteries, giving rise to a philosophical current known as Scholasticism, a philosophy closely linked to religious concerns.
Read MorePre-Socratic Philosophers: Understanding the Cosmos
The assumption that the generation of beings, change, and movement may arise from a single principle, or arche, complicates things. One cannot actually originate the plurality witnessed by the senses, which contradicts the logical-rational information of Parmenides. Empedocles spoke of four elements: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. Generation and corruption are effects of the mixing or separation of such elements. But why do they come together or separate? This is due to two opposing cosmic forces:
Read MorePlato’s Theory of Ideas: Understanding True Knowledge
Knowledge is unreliable for attaining real knowledge (science or Episteme). The reason is that, if it leads to true knowledge, one must be able to know the ideas: objects that are stable, permanent, eternal, and so on. These will serve to build the concepts of universal knowledge, which is eternal, immutable, objective, strong, and not wrong. Also recognized in the knowledge of reason, in varying degrees of Episteme, is Dianoia, discursive reason, aimed at the mathematical world, which was, according
Read MoreKant’s Ethics of Duty: A Deep Dive into Moral Philosophy
Kant’s Ethics: Duty and Moral Philosophy
The central question of ethics for Kant is what one ought to do. This leads us to consider that morality is directly related to duty, to the question of what should be done and what should be avoided. According to Kant, ethics must be universal; its principles should be valid for all rational beings in an absolute and necessary manner. Morality that is based on the particular experience of a subject has only a contingent and particular value. Morality cannot
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