Philosophical approach, The Picture of Dorian Gray.

a. what view of life does the story present? to which character best articulates this viewpoint?.
We seem to view life as a shell in The Picture of Dorian Gray. It's like a place we are in, nut separate from. We see this very strongly in Dorian Gray and Lord Henry.
b. according to this works view of life, what is mankinds relationship to God? the universe?
Since we watch Dorian sell his sole to the Devil, I'm going to say that he doesn't have the best relationship with God personally. As for the universe, the characters seem to be living "on" it, but nor really in it. They see themselves as very important (most of them).
c. what moral statement, if any, does this story make? implicit or explicit?
I find the saying, "what goes around comes around" to really fit in with this novel. I'd say it was implicit because we only see this through the characters (ahh hem, Dorian Gray) actions.
d. what is the authors attitude toward his world? fate? God?
The author seems to have some deep feelings about our world, and he shows those through this novel. We also watch how the different characters have very different interactions with God.
e. what is the authors conception of good and evil?
The author has a dark side to evil, seeing how one of his characters sells his sole to the devil.
f. what does the work say about the nature of good or evil?
This work shows us how evil can become over powering if in the wrong hands.
g. What does the work say about human nature?
Human nature obviously is controlled by the person in which you are talking about, but we also see that humans can get easily caught up in the pointless things in life.

Thesis! :D
The Picture of Dorian Gray takes you on a philosophical adventure through the wonders of what could potentially be an evil world.