Philosophy and Oscar Wilde

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.

“Philosophy and Oscar Wilde provides a fine opportunity to consider the extent to which his work reveals a productive interchange between the two fields. ... Philosophy and Oscar Wilde is thought-provoking throughout. ... the volume adds detail and depth to an understanding of Wilde’s relationship to philosophy.” (Timothy L. Carens, English Literature in Transition 1880-1920, Vol. 62 (3), 2019)“At its best ... Philosophy and Oscar Wilde extends our knowledge of Wilde and his intellectual milieu, provokes new thought about what we already knew and whets the appetite for the publication of the next Oxford notebook.” (Iain Ross, The Wildean, Issue 53, July 2018)“This volume offers nine essays on how these philosophical studies reappeared or left traces in Wilde’s later works – chiefly as targets for this champion of homo ludens to spoof or contradict in his outrageous epigrams which served as a manifesto for his program toliberate the straight-laced, moralistic Victorian society from even the basic stricture of logical consistency.” (Patrick Madigan, The Heythrop Journal, Vol. 159 (1), 2018)“Philosophy and Oscar Wilde takes as its provocation the recent and immanent publication of Wildean notebooks on the subject of philosophy. This collection, edited by Michael Y. Bennett, constitutes a valuable addition to our knowledge of Wilde’s influences and the development of his thought over time.” (SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900, Vol. 58 (4), 2018)“The essays in this volume investigate Wilde’s notebooks, reading lists, and literary output. … Overall, those interested in Wilde will find this an erudite and informative collection. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty.” (S. Bernardo, Choice, Vol. 55 (3), November, 2017)“Bennett’s collection ... has important aims in their own right, and serious ones. ... Bennett’s book ... is an important contribution to the field, and commendable.” (Giles Whiteley, The Oscholars, September, 2017)

• 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