Morality seems to be common as dirt in art And this is why Wilde challenged and denigrated morality (middle-class morality was the pejorative term both he and

Morality seems to be common as dirt in art And this is why Wilde challenged and denigrated morality (middle-class morality was the pejorative term both he and Shaw liked to use). He was actually an extremely moralistic writer and philosopher. See for example the Soul of Man under Socialism: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1017/1017-h/1017-h.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1017/1017-h/1017-h.htm So much moralizing is reflexive, simplistic, and just plain cheesy that I think it fair to say that it is antithetical to art. And in science, well, science sometimes leads to some morally troubling conclusions. All of which leads me to one of my favorite Wilde quote: Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others. If you think that's nonsense, take a moment to reflect on it. Then reflect on it a little more. It's a sentence whose wit springs from subverting the moral assumptions inherit in the words themselves.