The Conditions of Moral Evolution in Savagery and Civilisation

W. R. Matthews found the moral argument (along with the teleological argument) the most persuasive of all the theistic arguments. He reflects upon the “moral evolution of mankind” and asks what it implies concerning the nature of the universe; he discusses the conscience and asks, “On what grounds can we justify that sense of obligation which is the characteristic property of moral experience?” He ponders the nature of the good and asks, “What is the place of the Good in the general structure of the universe?” He finds that in each case he is led to the theistic hypothesis.

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“NO ARTIST HAS ETHICAL SYMPATHIES”: OSCAR WILDE, AESTHETICS, AND MORAL EVOLUTION

Victorian Literature and Culture ◽

10.1017/s1060150316000127 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 623-640 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Caroline Sumpter

Keyword(s):

Significant Influence ◽

Mode Of Action ◽

Oscar Wilde ◽

Aesthetic Responses ◽

Evolution Of Morality ◽

Ethical Stance ◽

Moral Evolution

“There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals” (137). This evolutionary claim is not attributable to Darwin, but to Oscar Wilde, who allows Gilbert to voice this bold assertion in “The True Function of Criticism.” While critics have long wrestled with the ethical stance and coherence of Wilde's writings, they have overlooked a significant influence on his work: debates concerning the evolution of morality that animated the periodicals in which he was writing. Wilde was fascinated by the proposition that complex human behaviours, including moral and aesthetic responses, might be traced back to evolutionary impulses. Significantly, he also wrote for a readership already engaged with these controversies.

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