Passion To Oppose: John Anderson, philosopher

John Anderson was Australia's most important philosopher in the first half of this century. The young Scotsman held the chair of philosophy at the University of Sydney for thirty years until retirement in 1958. He developed his own distinctive system of realism and fathered a vigorous local school characterised by inquiry, independence and a deep commitment to philosophy as a way of life.

He was a formidable public figure and fierce controversialist who outraged many of Sydney's conventiona...