John Anderson Lecture Notes and Other Writings

Background Notes by Mark Weblin
(John Anderson Senior Research Fellow, University of Sydney)

John Anderson was born in Scotland in 1893. He was educated at the Hamilton Academy and then at Glasgow University. He obtained a Shaw Fellowship which took him to Cardiff University, before returning to teach at Glasgow University. In 1922, he was appointed lecturer at Edinburgh University and married Janet Baillie. Their son Alexander was born the following year. In 1926 he applied for the Challis Chair of Philosophy at Sydney University and arrived in February 1927. From 1927 to 1958, Anderson taught at the University, leaving only once to return to the United Kingdom during his sabbatical of 1938. He published only one book in his own lifetime, Education and Politics, (Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1931) a short collection of educational writings. During his tenure at the University, he published many articles primarily in the A.J.P.P. of which he was editor from 1934 to 1946. After his retirement, he devoted his energies to having a collection of his articles published under the title Studies in Empirical Philosophy. He was working on the index to this work when he died of a heart attack in July 1962. Studies was subsequently published, with an introduction by John Passmore. Since his death two more publications of his work have appeared - Art and Reality and Education and Inquiry. Apart from his published writings, Anderson gave an extensive range of lectures dealing primarily with the history of philosophy (Modern and Classical) and the general divisions of philosophy - logic, ethics and aesthetics, although there is little of this latter subject. Since his death, Anderson's life and philosophy have been the subject of a small number of studies - The Social Life and Political Thought of Professor John Anderson and Australian Realism, both by A.J. Baker, and A Passion to Oppose by Brian Kennedy. A Semi-Detached Australian by John Passmore also deals with Anderson in some detail. However there have been numerous articles on Anderson and his influence, by many of his students, including John Passmore, John Mackie, David Armstrong and Eugene Kamenka.

John Anderson's thinking and writing are concerned with six broad subject areas:

1. Philosophy

Philosophy, on Anderson's understanding of the term, is used in the broadest possible sense as incorporating logic, ethics and aesthetics with logic also being used in its broad sense as meaning metaphysics and including epistemology, ontology and formal logic. It is commonplace to describe Anderson's philosophy in terms such as Realism, Empiricism and Positivism, although he himself also described it as naturalism and objectivism He has also been called a humanist. The main source for understanding his philosophy is Studies in Empirical Philosophy. This book of 31 articles is divided into roughly two sections with 16 articles on logic and 15 articles on ethics (including education). The work does not include all his articles on philosophy, there being also a number of articles on a wide variety of subjects (currently being edited under the title 'Miscellaneous Philosophical Writings'). Apart from Studies, a collection of Anderson's writings of aesthetics has been collected under the title Art and Reality. Most of these writings are presidential addresses to the Sydney University Literary Society.

John Anderson's philosophy is often assumed to be a fixed, logical system which did not change over time, although this view can be questioned on the basis of changes in social and political writings over his lifetime and comments that he makes in his correspondence with Ruth Walker. (For a detailed study of the changes in Anderson's philosophy over his lifetime see my Ph.D. thesis, 'The Place of John Anderson in the History of Philosophy'.) Corresponding to the four periods of the changing nature of Anderson's views on politics, it is possible to discern four similar periods of change of emphasis with respect to his philosophical views.

In the period from 1926 to 1931, nine of the articles written for Studies were published and deal primarily with questions in metaphysics. In this period, Anderson presented a clear outline of the general features of his philosophy in such articles as 'Empiricism', 'Propositions and Judgements', 'The Non-Existence of Consciousness' and 'Realism and Some of its Critics'. In the latter article, Anderson presented what may be termed his doctrinal conception of philosophy in terms of Realism, Empiricism and Positivism, where the Realistic belief in one way of knowing implies the Empiricist belief of one way of being which in turn implies the Positivistic belief in one logic of events. There are eight sets of lectures dating from this period on the subjects of modern philosophy, ethics, logic and Greek philosophy.

From 1932 to 1938, ten of the articles which appear in Studies were published. In these articles, Anderson turned away from strictly logical studies and wrote primarily on the history of philosophy and the history of ideas. He wrote on Descartes, Hume, Hegel and Marxist philosophy. He also wrote his important article on Freudian psychology, 'Mind as Feeling'. In these articles there is little discussion of the doctrines of philosophy which he had referred to earlier. This was also the period of his most active discussion of aesthetic issues. Of the 35 addresses reprinted in Art and Reality, 20 were from the period 1931 to 1937. In these addresses he was concerned with defending a Realist theory of beauty and particularly the distinction between Classicism and Romanticism. He also discussed specific authors including Joyce, Dosteovsky, Melville, Shaw, Peacock, Kipling and Wells. There are nineteen sets of lectures dating from these period dealing with the subjects of ethics, Greek philosophy, modern philosophy, logic, William James, Reid's Inquiry and Plato.

In the period from 1939 to 1951, six of the articles which appear in Studies were published and these were concerned almost exclusively with issues in ethics. Important articles during this period were 'The Meaning of Good', 'Freudianism and Society', 'The Servile State' and 'The Nature of Ethics'. After 1945, Anderson published nothing until 1952. During the period 1939 to 1947, Anderson was also active writing articles on aesthetics, writing eight of the addresses which appears in Art and Reality where he was concerned primarily with the writings of Joyce although he also wrote the important article, 'Art and Morality'. There are thirty five sets of lectures from the period 1939 to 1950 dealing with the subjects of mental science, the Platonic dialogues, Alexander, Hegel, Green's Principles of Political Obligation, ethics and aesthetics, dialectic, political theory, introduction to philosophy, ethics, Socialism, the philosophical implications of Marxism, knowledge and opinion, education and Greek philosophy.

From 1952 to 1962, six of the articles which appear in Studies were written. Apart from his 1952 'Hypotheticals' and two articles on psychology in 1953, the only other article written before the publication of Studies was the 1960 'Classicism'. While preparing Studies for publication, he also wrote 'Empiricism and Logic' and 'Relational Arguments'. However during this period Anderson published five substantial articles dealing with the general subject of history and concerned primarily with the views of Croce and Vico, although these were not published in Studies. In his aesthetic writings, he only wrote a further two articles during this period. Anderson also wrote his important 1958 article 'Realism' at this time. There are seven sets of lectures dating from this period dealing with the subjects of education, modern philosophy, Greek philosophy, Greek theories of education, philosophy of religion, criticism, ethics and religion.

Anderson's writings on philosophy went through several phases in his lifetime with a marked change of emphasis occurring at several points. He was most productive in the early part of his tenure, but after 1945 there was a marked drop in his academic output. However it was at this time that Anderson appeared to be reassessing his general philosophical outlook and in his correspondence with Ruth Walker he speaks of his 'revived Hegelianism and Idealism'. It can be (contentiously) proposed then that during the last decade of his life Anderson was moving away from the strict adherence to Realism that he had upheld during the early part of his career to a more reflective and Hegelian view of philosophy.

2. Political and social theory

The most marked changes in Anderson's thinking on a subject occurs in his writings on politics and social theory which are well outlined in A.J. Baker's The Social Life and Political Thought of Professor John Anderson. Baker clearly demonstrates that Anderson's thinking on political and social themes went through four clearly defined stages: his Communist phase from 1927 to 1932, his Trotskyist phase from 1932 to 1937, his democratic phase from 1939 to 1951 and his 'conservative' phase from 1952 to 1962.

In the period 1927 to 1931, Anderson was closely associated with the Communist Party of Australia and although never a member of the party, he attended the 1928 conference as a 'Theoretical Advisor' to the party. Between 1927 and 1929, he contributed regularly to the Workers Weekly and the theoretical journal The Communist. He also addresses various university society's and clubs on the subject of Communism and contributed articles to The Labour Monthly and Zest. He was also involved with the 'United Front Against Fascism' and the 'Friends of the Soviet Union'. His 1931 address to the Sydney University Labour Club on Historical Materialism bought him to the attention of the NSW Nationalist Party and was a precursor to the 1931 'War Idols' controversy. In 1932, he was invited to contribute three articles to the Melbourne University Labour Club's journal, Proletariat, but when the third article was rejected by the editor he had the article published by the Sydney University Freethought Society, thus signalling the end of his involvement with the Communist Party. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'The Red Professor')

Between 1932 and 1937, Anderson was involved in the Trotskyist Workers' Party (Left Opposition). Throughout 1932 and 1933 he gave several papers to the Workers Party Discussion Group and with the publication of the journal The Militant in October 1933, Anderson published the first of thirteen articles for the Workers Party. He was particularly active between 1934 and 1936 and these articles were distinctive for their internationalist perspective. However by the start of 1937 he was beginning to question several of Trotsky's views on the Soviet Union and in September of that year he wrote 'Why Bolshevism Failed' which signalled his formal break with the Workers Party. After this, Anderson was never involved with a political party again. Between 1935 and 1938, apart from writing 'Marxist Philosophy' and 'Marxist Ethics' (both reprinted in Studies) Anderson also contributed three important review articles on Marxism for the Workers Educational Association magazine, The Australian Highway. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'The Workers Party'.)

After his return from sabbatical, Anderson's political writings were presented as addresses to the Freethought Society and occasional university addresses. He was particularly concerned with criticism of totalitarianism and socialism and he defended a democratic theory of politics. His criticism of socialism was best expressed in his 1943 'The Servile State' while his defence of democracy was best outlined in his 1945 'Prospects of Democracy'. Anderson was also critical of democracy in his 1948 article 'The Politics of Proscription'. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'Democracy'.)

Between 1952 and 1962, Anderson wrote several articles which while nominally discussing the subject of history, outlined his so-called 'conservative' view of politics and society. His key article in this respect was his 1952 'Democratic Illusions' where he criticised egalitarianism and expressed support for traditions and privileges in social life. In the years prior to this article, Anderson had become increasingly strident in his opposition to Communism which alienated him from a majority of the student population and particularly within the Freethought Society, many of whom believed that Anderson's anti-authoritarianism was waning. Anderson's anti-Communism is the main reason he is often designated a 'conservative' at this time. However throughout this period Anderson was highly critical of religion and moralism, and opposed the attempt to ban the Communist party by the Menzies liberal government.

3. Freethought

John Anderson was the founding and only president of the Sydney University Freethought Society from 1931 to 1951. In his addresses to this society, he discussed a wide range of social and political issues including religion, sexual freedom, censorship, psychology, etc. However he did not restrict himself to the Freethought Society, and he delivered many occasional addresses to a wide variety of University societies. It was in this role that he became well known to the general public through the 1931 War Idols controversy and the 1943 Religion in Education controversy. As in his political, social and education writings, there is a discernible change in his conception of Freethought over this period.

In the period from 1927 to 1931, Anderson wrote articles and gave addresses on a wide variety of subjects. As early as 1928, Anderson gave an address to the A.A.P.P. on the topic 'Philosophy as Freethought' although no record of this address exists. In this year he also gave his important address on the topic of censorship where he outlined his general case against censorship. The Sydney University Freethought Society was formed in 1930 with Anderson elected as president and his presidential address was on the topic of 'Mythology'. He also gave an address to the Rationalist Association on the topic of 'Freedom of Thought'. During 1931 Anderson gave an address on Communism at the Melbourne University Labour Club which was reported in the Melbourne press and then in Honi Soit. Shortly after he gave an address on 'Historical Materialism' to the Sydney University Christian Union and on 'The Working Class' to the Sydney University Labour Club. Both of these addresses were reported in the Sydney press and the NSW Nationalist Party, which was holding its annual conference at that time, condemned the teaching of Communist theory at the University. Although no action was taken against Anderson at this time, when he gave his presidential address to the Freethought Society on 'Freethought and Politics' which criticised war memorials, religion and patriotism, it was widely reported in the press and the Sydney Morning Herald ran an editorial criticising Anderson's views. The matter was also raised in the NSW Legislative Assembly, although the Lang Labor Government took no action against Anderson. However the Sydney University Senate did take offence to Anderson's views and requested him to attend an interview with the Senate. As a result, a censure motion was passed against Anderson requesting him to refrain from making such utterances in future. Throughout the rest of the year, Anderson was active around the University giving addresses on Freethought, psycho-analysis and religion. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'Freethought and Censorship'.)

From 1932 to 1937, the Freethought Society entered its so-called 'Golden Age' characterised by widespread unanimity between Anderson and the student membership. The Society published its first edition of 'Freethought' in 1932 to which Anderson contributed several articles, amongst them his important 'Some Obscurantist Fallacies'. The Freethought Society also published Anderson's rejected article to Proletariat which appeared under the title, 'Censorship in the Working Class Movement'. Throughout the rest of the thirties, Anderson gave regular addresses covering a wide range of social and political issues including Fascism, censorship, Australian philosophy, Trotsky and the Soviet Union, social service, Christianity, education and the monarchy. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'The Golden Age'.)

In the period from 1938 to 1945, the Freethought Society went through its 'Silver Age' where although Anderson's authority as president went unchallenged, there was increasing deviation from the standard Andersonian line. Between 1939 and 1942, Anderson discussed four main themes - politics, religion, education and censorship. In his political addresses he criticised totalitarianism and the labour movement while in his educational addresses he defended liberal education from war time restrictions and constraints. In his religious addresses he criticised the role of Christianity within the university and gave a psycho-analytic account of religion. In his addresses on censorship he gave a paper on obscenity and in another paper discussed the relationship between Freethought and sex. In April of 1943, Anderson was invited by the New Education Fellowship to give a public lecture on religion and education in which he argued that there is no place for religion in education and particularly in schools. These comments were widely reported in the popular press and in the N.S.W. Legislative Assembly, a censure motion was passed against Anderson and the University Senate was requested to consider action against Anderson. There followed two weeks of public debate although the Senate eventually decided no sanction was warranted against Anderson. Throughout the rest of the war years, Anderson's addresses were less frequent although he gave an important paper on the nature of Freethought in 1945. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'The Silver Age'.)

After the end of the war, the Freethought Society went through its 'Bronze Age' where there was increasing dissatisfaction with Anderson from the student body which resulted in an open challenge to Anderson's position as president and the eventual dissolution of the Freethought Society. In these years Anderson's political position became increasingly anti-Communist whereas a large number of the Freethought Society were in varying degrees sympathetic to Communism. Hence in 1947 when a group of students, including several prominent Freethinkers, protested against Dutch rule in Indonesia, there was a confrontation with the police force and Anderson, while criticising the notion of a police force, was also highly critical of the aims of the protesters. Anderson also criticised the Labor government's bill to nationalise the banks and was often critical of the direction of university education and the nature of the student population. The tensions that had been simmering during this time came to a head in 1950 when Anderson criticised the creation of a committee to oppose conscription at the time of the Korean war and was also critical of the Communist Party when Menzies proposed a bill to ban the party, although Anderson also opposed the legislation. In 1951, the polarisation between Anderson and the student membership of the Freethought Society led to a number of papers being delivered on the nature and direction of Freethought. Anderson's own contributions further emphasised the difference between himself and the student population and after 1951 the Freethought Society never met again. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'The Bronze Age'.)

In the period from 1952 to 1962, Anderson's University addresses were less frequent although if he wanted to call a public meeting, his reputation was such as to ensure a well attended meeting. The main thrust of his criticisms during this time were on religion and the direction of university education. He spoke out on the Orr case and was involved in controversy when he was attacked by Archbishop Gough in 1961. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'Religion and Education'.)

4. History

From 1952 to 1962, only six of the articles that Anderson wrote appeared in Studies. However during this time Anderson wrote several articles on the subject of history. In these articles he was concerned primarily with the views of Croce and Vico and he often spoke of defending traditions and privileges of social life and these statements are often taken to indicate his political conservatism. (These writings are currently being edited under the title 'History'.)

5. Education

John Anderson was interested with the subject of education throughout his lifetime and a collection of these have been published as Education and Inquiry. However this collection is not complete and apart from his many occasional addresses on the subject, mention must be made of 'Socrates as an Educator' (1928) and 'Classicism' (1959). As in his political writings there is a marked change in emphasis in these two articles, which derive in part from his changed view of politics and particularly 'proletarianism' and the class theory of society.

6. Personal Correspondence

In the University archives there is a large collection of John Anderson's correspondence with his wife Jenny during their courtship period in Scotland and with his colleague Ruth Walker between 1936 and 1956. Particularly in the latter correspondence, there is much material that is illuminating of his personal life including love poems and dream analysis. However this correspondence is also much important theoretical material such as his views on 'the place of women in the Andersonian ethic' from 1938 and of his 'rediscovered Idealism and Hegelianism' from 1952.