Dokument: Nietzsche‘s Philosophical Concept of Dionysus and Apollo in the Art of Oscar Wilde
| Titel: | Nietzsche‘s Philosophical Concept of Dionysus and Apollo in the Art of Oscar Wilde | |||||||
| URL für Lesezeichen: | https://docserv.uni-duesseldorf.de/servlets/DocumentServlet?id=46838 | |||||||
| URN (NBN): | urn:nbn:de:hbz:061-20180827-142320-6 | |||||||
| Kollektion: | Dissertationen | |||||||
| Sprache: | Englisch | |||||||
| Dokumententyp: | Wissenschaftliche Abschlussarbeiten » Dissertation | |||||||
| Medientyp: | Text | |||||||
| Autor: | Herr Hafudh Humaish, Ali [Autor] | |||||||
| Dateien: |
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| Beitragender: | Prof. Lüdeke, Roger [Gutachter] | |||||||
| Stichwörter: | Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Dionysus, Apollo | |||||||
| Dewey Dezimal-Klassifikation: | 800 Literatur » 820 Englische, altenglische Literatur | |||||||
| Beschreibung: | This dissertation examines the poet, playwright, novelist and essayist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) as a fictional incarnation of the German philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1944-1900). Examining Wilde from a philosophical perspective shows him more a moralist, reformist, and social critic than a mere decadent author who valued artifice over nature and pleasure and luxury over morality. Nietzsche’s philosophy of art as a way out of nihilism and as a way to affirm life rather than negate it, is replicated by Wilde ‘s philosophy of art as being superior and indispensable to a creative life. Though an advocate of art for art’s sake doctrine, in practice Wilde was not able to dissociate morality from art. Just as Nietzsche believed through his philosophical concept of Dionysus and Apollo in the interdependence of both for a creative life, so did Wilde believe that no side is to be neglected at the expense of the other. The thesis reads Wilde as a disciple of Nietzsche who always claimed that he is a disciple of Dionysus. Through examining his art, Wilde’s decency, righteousness and integrity is more valued than his so called decadence. This sets him apart from other decadent writers with whom he he associated.
He is caught in a debate in which he has to decide whether to affirm life or to negate it. Arthur Schopenhauer had found that the way to escape the vicious circle of existence where man is caught in a never-ending struggle to satisfy needs that remain unfulfilled is through asceticism. It is by withdrawing from life and leading a life of a monk in order to stop this struggle because this struggle never ceases to cause pain. Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, disagreed with Schopenhauer. He found the way out of the nihilistic vicious circle of existence is through aestheticism rather than asceticism. He affirms life through art rather than negates it by asceticism. He believed that it is possible to achieve that in the manner of the Greeks who were nihilistic too but managed to overcome their pessimism through art and beauty. They found a balance between two extremes, the Dionysian and Apollonian. The creation of art depended on the tension and balance between the two. Apollo stands for rationality mind and logic) and Dionysus for that which goes beyond rationality ( heart and intuition). Stark rationality and logic for Nietzsche leads only one truth which is death while Dionysus is concerned about what makes existence beautiful through art. Wilde found himself in the Victorian age in the face of a life negating establishment. He was a Nietzschean leader in the face of a Schopenhauerian establishment. He wanted to affirm life through his art. The thesis confirms that the designation that his concern was to shock the middle class (Bourgeoisie) whose concern is mainly to cater for design and sensuality at the expense of morals cannot be vindicated. Indeed his doctrine "Art for Art's sake" which supposedly dissociates morality from art is not applied in his writing practice and shows him a moralist who believed that aesthetics is a transcendent philosophy that a tradition-bound Victorian society failed to understand. It also shows a religious Wilde who believed in a rational faith in the manner of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Like Friedrich Nietzsche, he was exploring the possibility of thinking of the world as an aesthetic phenomenon where the only way to strive against nihilism is through aesthetics. He tried to apply his aesthetic theory to his hostile environment and was in constant search of reconciliation between the Dionysian and Apollonian in a society that relegated imagination to a decorative hallucination. These terms used by Nietzsche in his Birth of Tragedy were central principles in Greek culture. Apollonian represents among others, the mind, reason, rationality form and structure. It is also another term for Schopenhauer’s principle of individuation. Dionysus, on the other hand represents the heart, passion, emotions, madness and ecstasy, which may stand for Schopenhauer’s Will. In the study, I show that Wilde, contrary to much hostile criticism, which relegates his work to a decadent amoral aestheticism, is in fact morally, socially, politically and philosophically engaged in his society. He also sought to affirm life through art while never losing sight of the importance of balance between the Dionysian and Apollonian. He struggled to keep the philosophical balance and fusion between the Dionysian and Apollonian, the concept that Nietzsche used in his 1872 book The Birth of Tragedy. In the face of a life negating Victorian society, he came to affirm life through art and beauty. In his short story The Happy Prince explores the consequences of a society that does not value art. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Grey, he preaches that much aestheticism could also be harmful. In his religious Play Salome, he brings together Schopenhauerian and Nietzschean characters face to face to show the consequences of favoring one extreme at the expense of the other. In his poetry he find himself in a struggle against a life denying society for which he fell a victim that brought his art philosophy to a premature end. | |||||||
| Quelle: | This dissertation examines the poet, playwright, novelist and essayist Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) as a fictional incarnation of the German philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1944-1900). Examining Wilde from a philosophical perspective shows him more a moralist, reformist, and social critic than a mere decadent author who valued artifice over nature and pleasure and luxury over morality. Nietzsche’s philosophy of art as a way out of nihilism and as a way to affirm life rather than negate it, is replicated by Wilde ‘s philosophy of art as being superior and indispensable to a creative life. Though an advocate of art for art’s sake doctrine, in practice Wilde was not able to dissociate morality from art. Just as Nietzsche believed through his philosophical concept of Dionysus and Apollo in the interdependence of both for a creative life, so did Wilde believe that no side is to be neglected at the expense of the other. The thesis reads Wilde as a disciple of Nietzsche who always claimed that he is a disciple of Dionysus. Through examining his art, Wilde’s decency, righteousness and integrity is more valued than his so called decadence. This sets him apart from other decadent writers with whom he he associated.
He is caught in a debate in which he has to decide whether to affirm life or to negate it. Arthur Schopenhauer had found that the way to escape the vicious circle of existence where man is caught in a never-ending struggle to satisfy needs that remain unfulfilled is through asceticism. It is by withdrawing from life and leading a life of a monk in order to stop this struggle because this struggle never ceases to cause pain. Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, disagreed with Schopenhauer. He found the way out of the nihilistic vicious circle of existence is through aestheticism rather than asceticism. He affirms life through art rather than negates it by asceticism. He believed that it is possible to achieve that in the manner of the Greeks who were nihilistic too but managed to overcome their pessimism through art and beauty. They found a balance between two extremes, the Dionysian and Apollonian. The creation of art depended on the tension and balance between the two. Apollo stands for rationality mind and logic) and Dionysus for that which goes beyond rationality ( heart and intuition). Stark rationality and logic for Nietzsche leads only one truth which is death while Dionysus is concerned about what makes existence beautiful through art. Wilde found himself in the Victorian age in the face of a life negating establishment. He was a Nietzschean leader in the face of a Schopenhauerian establishment. He wanted to affirm life through his art. The thesis confirms that the designation that his concern was to shock the middle class (Bourgeoisie) whose concern is mainly to cater for design and sensuality at the expense of morals cannot be vindicated. Indeed his doctrine "Art for Art's sake" which supposedly dissociates morality from art is not applied in his writing practice and shows him a moralist who believed that aesthetics is a transcendent philosophy that a tradition-bound Victorian society failed to understand. It also shows a religious Wilde who believed in a rational faith in the manner of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Like Friedrich Nietzsche, he was exploring the possibility of thinking of the world as an aesthetic phenomenon where the only way to strive against nihilism is through aesthetics. He tried to apply his aesthetic theory to his hostile environment and was in constant search of reconciliation between the Dionysian and Apollonian in a society that relegated imagination to a decorative hallucination. These terms used by Nietzsche in his Birth of Tragedy were central principles in Greek culture. Apollonian represents among others, the mind, reason, rationality form and structure. It is also another term for Schopenhauer’s principle of individuation. Dionysus, on the other hand represents the heart, passion, emotions, madness and ecstasy, which may stand for Schopenhauer’s Will. In the study, I show that Wilde, contrary to much hostile criticism, which relegates his work to a decadent amoral aestheticism, is in fact morally, socially, politically and philosophically engaged in his society. He also sought to affirm life through art while never losing sight of the importance of balance between the Dionysian and Apollonian. He struggled to keep the philosophical balance and fusion between the Dionysian and Apollonian, the concept that Nietzsche used in his 1872 book The Birth of Tragedy. In the face of a life negating Victorian society, he came to affirm life through art and beauty. In his short story The Happy Prince explores the consequences of a society that does not value art. In his novel The Picture of Dorian Grey, he preaches that much aestheticism could also be harmful. In his religious Play Salome, he brings together Schopenhauerian and Nietzschean characters face to face to show the consequences of favoring one extreme at the expense of the other. In his poetry he find himself in a struggle against a life denying society for which he fell a victim that brought his art philosophy to a premature end. | |||||||
| Lizenz: |  Urheberrechtsschutz | |||||||
| Fachbereich / Einrichtung: | Philosophische Fakultät » Anglistisches Institut » Neuere Anglistik (IV) | |||||||
| Dokument erstellt am: | 27.08.2018 | |||||||
| Dateien geändert am: | 27.08.2018 | |||||||
| Promotionsantrag am: | 01.04.2013 | |||||||
| Datum der Promotion: | 09.07.2018 |
