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4 ideas
7276 | All art is quite useless [Wilde] |
Full Idea: All art is quite useless. | |
From: Oscar Wilde (Preface to 'Dorian Gray' [1891]) | |
A reaction: Echoes Kant's thought that art is 'purposive without purpose'. Although I find Wilde's claims that morality has nothing to do with art to be naïve, I find this remark sympathetic. Art may play with moral feelings, but is unlikely to affect actions. |
7274 | Books are only well or badly written, not moral or immoral [Wilde] |
Full Idea: There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. | |
From: Oscar Wilde (Preface to 'Dorian Gray' [1891]) | |
A reaction: This is simply false. Novels that are viciously (or subtly) racist, sexist, homophobic, or egotistical can obviously be immoral. I could write a nasty story about Oscar Wilde. It might, though, be very well written. If life is moral, so are novels. |
7275 | Having ethical sympathies is a bad mannerism of style in an artist [Wilde] |
Full Idea: No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. | |
From: Oscar Wilde (Preface to 'Dorian Gray' [1891]) | |
A reaction: This has a Nietzschean suggestion that the artist is 'beyond good and evil', and operates on some higher level of values, which in Wilde's case seem to be purely aesthetic. You can't justify a callous murder by executing it beautifully. |
468 | Musical performance can reveal a range of virtues [Damon of Ath.] |
Full Idea: In singing and playing the lyre, a boy will be likely to reveal not only courage and moderation, but also justice. | |
From: Damon (fragments/reports [c.460 BCE], B4), quoted by (who?) - where? |