A Passion to Oppose John Anderson, 1893–1962

John Anderson was Australia's most important philosopher in the first half of the 20th century. The young Scotsman held the chair of philosophy at the University of Sydney for 30 years until retirement in 1958. This biography of Anderson contains much new material about Anderson's Scottish past and his conflicted public and private life. His relations with students were complex; with women, they were decidedly problematic. In the aftermath of a pragmatic revolution that has swept our universities and colleges, Anderson's uncompromising calls to unfettered inquiry, and the Socratic way of life are timely.

Dr Brian Kennedy was for many years a senior lecturer in varied fields of history at Monash University.