Box 95, Item 1: Various drafts of Prospects for regional philosophies in Australasia

Box 95, Item 1: Various drafts of Prospects for regional philosophies in Australasia

Various typescript drafts, some with handwritten emendations. Paper published, Sylvan R (1985) 'Prospects for regional philosophies in Australasia', Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 63(2):188-204, https://doi.org/10.1080/00048408512341801.

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PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA
Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk philosophy, like
other intellectual and higher cultural activity In Australasia, has long been

indeed

dominated,

Europe,

the

largely

swamped,

by

Northern

now increasingly from North America.

cultural

and

other

resulting controlling

such

populations,

But it does not have to stay that way.

a

initially

the migration

Given
the

ethnic

result

was

imported,

baggage

influences,

patterns,
of

composition

virtually

from

the

inevitable.

Suitable policies, a good philosophy

policy, could change things.

The

culture,

thought
is

of

regional

a

philosophy,

In 1923, a New Zealand

hardly a new one.

regional

a

matching

perhaps

correspondent to the

newly-launched Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the

possibility of ’a new kind or temper of philosophy under these southern skies’

which the Journal might
such a

reaching

role
not

community).

(or,

for

merely

And

foster.The Journal

that

matter,

professional

although

some

actively

has

pursued

philosophers

things

however hardly fulfilled

but

have changed

solid foundation for a new regionalism in philosophy,

its
a

pronounced

wider

Australasian

in Australia,

that

of

alm

laying a

possibility of

a

new temper of philosophy has hardly been realised. There is little in the way

of a new kind and

which

the

southern skies were intended to include: but few distinguishing features,

’no

distinctively

New

temper of

Zealand

XAJPP, March 1923, p.74.
same volume, p.292ff; his
Appendix 1.

philosophy

under New Zealand

characteristics,

have

shown

up

skies,

in

New

Zealand

The question was taken up by the Editor in the
discussion is considered below, especially in

philosophy’.

2

The situation of colonial dominance that used to prevail in

and philosophers.
Australia,

importer of philosophy,

New Zealand remains a substantial net

where

virtually

all

chairs,

and

many

philosophy, were filled by academics from the North,

other

academic

and

considered

and

Given the usual

in courses designed,

power and influence of professors in small departments,

covered

in

tends to persist in New

Zealand, where no established chairs are occupied by locals/

topics

posts

especially appointments

made,

the

heavy

Northern orientation of philosophy taught and researched in New Zealand is not

surprising.

oldest

of

The Northern control is perhaps most strikingly exhibited at the

New

Zealand

universities,

the

University

of

Otago,

where

the

Philosophy Department has been substantially captured by a British School and
increasingly

looks

event,

like

an offshoot

of

the University of London/

In any

the overwhelming Anglo-American dominance of New Zealand philosophy -

also a feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian philosophy - can

be confirmed by a content survey of the courses offered

and research

papers

written at New Zealand universities.

Even when local people have been appointed to positions in Australasia,

2 ,
S.A. Grave, A_ History of Philosophy in Australia, Queensland University
Press, 1984, p.l.
Page references are to the manuscript. The paper draws
heavily on this history.

3

This claim was correct at the time of presentation of the paper (August
198':!).
With the recent loss of a chair at Wellington, the claim requires
qualification, but the pattern of domination persists.

In the 1983 Commonwealth University Handbook listing, 6 of the 8 members of
the Department held their main degree, Ph.D., from London, and one of the
remainder from Exeter.
Only one member of the Department, soon to retire,
falls outside the nexus.

3

they have been brought up on a solid diet of Anglo-American material, and they
have often been reforged or finished in the North as well.

of

requirements
post-World

War

philosophy

by

remain

full

the
II

in

were

conveniently

seen

Oxford

B.Phil.

of

products

finished

candidates

universities

expansion

the

of

Australasian

this

Many

degree.

mill:

cultural

in Oxford were hard

to beat

In particular, the

the

in

to

departments

the

of

case

of

philosophy

the mid

70s

when they applied

for

until

indeed

out

of

period

major

positions, such was the (unwarranted) prestige of Oxford and the regrettable,
but still continuing, "cultural cringe".

despite

Nonetheless,

been occurring
scene

in

dominance,

Northern

the Antipodes,

be

will

(as

the

indicated).

especially on

is

It

worth

significant

the Australian

asking

changes

have

philosophical

whether

Australian

philosophy is moving towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than

100 year; ago when the Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought)
together, and its

go'den age'

began. ’

American philosophy was never quite

the same again, and became its own thing.

There are now new forces operating

which could help to move Australian philosophy in such a direction.

the

widespread

regionalism,

other

6

^See B.

which

applies

choices;

local

fashioning

emergence,

of

national

and

particularly

to
in

science

cultural
stark
and

in
and

culture,

alternative
ideological

contrast,

technology

there

There is
of

a

choice along

is

policies,

the

new
with

centralised

which

not

only

Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy; Cambridge, Massachusetts

1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977, Parts 2 and 3.
6

On this bio-regionalism, see especially, Fourth World News, vol. 1,
and K. Sale, Human Scale, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1980.

1983,

provides

model

a

for

reflection

regional

in

directly bears on parts of the philosophy of science.

soon appear,

there are

also some

also

Unfortunately, as will

to regional

serious obstacles

but

policy

philosophy

philosophies

and to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

USA, long an importer of culture from Europe, has recently become a net

culture,

of

exporter

components

of higher

philosophical

not

from

lower

of

Oxford

following

has

suit,

but

culture,

evidently

taken).

should

Are

not

balance of payments, especially in philosophy?

Yes,

reasons

there

achieve

also

of

the American turn

philosophy (witness

such as

culture

output

if

Australasia,

certainly

a

better

there are

why

cultural

reasons.

In

the first place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and

relations.

If

little prospect

for

perhaps in part derived from, vast changes in economic power
economic

of

most

dominance

entails

Australasia’s

cultural dominance,

since

culture,

there

there is

is

no

serious

that

prospect

Australasia will ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least
nuclear destruction of

not without

flow of commodities,
not

only

increasingly

of

Americans,

of

former group,

Northern cultural

they.

As

priorities,

contain

they

long

component

also

whose

and disruption of

the entire­

Secondly, as observed, Antipodean

large

a

fellow-travellers,

include

research

Northern

academics,

substantial

additional

of

a

teaching

and

is

bent

to

It is unlikely that this Influential segment, especially

Northern concerns.
the

North,

cultural and other).

universities

contingent

the

will

(become

commitments,

as

so

apart

Antipodeans

they are in a bind

locally acclimatised as

do

from the

not

situation;

isolated

drastically

to)

person.
alter

give up

Nor

their

its

should

cultural

for it can be persuasively argued

that they would be better off, as far as quality and

product goes,

stocking

/

/

A

5
o’
(

universities

their

with

American

teaching

components

and

researching

American-oriented concerns.

One

simple

numerical

argument

that

Antipodean

universities

would

be

better off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:- The (higher

graduates

degree)

of

Australasian

and

American

are

significantly

not

culturally distinguished, at least in subjects such as philosophy.

now the

quality academics

number of

Austroamerican graduates;

produced

per

of

number

higher

say there is 1 per every n graduates.

preponderance of graduates will be Americans,

Consider
degree

The (great)

just by virtue of their vastly

greater population and their more extensive system of university education.

So also then, just by ratio considerations, the great preponderance of quality

academics

from an

drawn

upper percentiles
they

interested

universities.

Austroamerican base

among those
in

Such

quality,
an

Clearly,

quality products.

would

argument

be

does

be American,

will

appointing
not

work

to

more

show

as will

Antipodeans,

Americans

that,

for

the

were
their

to

similar

reasons, American universities should be full of Chinese or Indian professors,
for

two

Asians

reasons;
and

first

Americans,

there

are

especially

significant
in

cultural

disciplines

such

differences
as

between

philosophy;

and

secondly, their university systems do not deliver such great quotas of higher

degree or high quality graduates, at least in philosophy.

The ratio of U.S.
philosophy graduautes with doctorates as compared with
Australian exceeded 30 to 1 in each of the years 1974 to 1980.
In 1977 it was
110 to 1.
New Zealand compares even less favourably with U.S. output.
For
details see Digest of Education Statistics (U.S. National Center for Education
Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1976, 1977-78, 1979,
1980, 1981 and 1982); University Statistics, (Australian Bureau of Statistics,
Canberra, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, ‘1979, 1980); Education Statistics of
New Zealand, (N.Z. Department of Education, Wellington, 1974, '1975, 1976,
1977, 1978, 1979, 1980).

The conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a popular one.

The

anti Amei icanism felt in portions of the Australasian community extends

into

the

universities;

and

recently

there

been

has

increasing

Insistence,

especially by the now aging younger Turks that university positions should be
This at the same time as these Turks often preach of an

reserved for locals.

international community of scholars, presumably then with "free” interchange,
etc.

They cannot have it all ways.^

So

long

continues,

as

the

economically;

the

present

centre

will

free-flow
dominate

they will have more

large to them if it

interchange

the

than us,

periphery

and

is (centrally-determined)

of

ideas

and

culturally

jobs here

personnel

as

should

well

as

go by and

quality in this high cultural

business that we seek, as mostly claim.

Now
anyway,

it

that

arguments.

is

widely

there

is

enough

recognised,

something

For we are not

lower-down

drastically

wrong

hierarchical

with

these

ladders
sorts

of

flooded with high-quality Northerners who would

8

A reverse flow of the better orthodox academics from Australasia to America
should also be expected (outside times of university contraction).
According
to assumptions of this brain drain argument, which is based on labour market
considerations, appointment
and lifestyle
conditions
for academics
are
generally better in USA than Australia and much better than those in
economically-depressed New Zealand (e.g. higher salaries, better standard of
living, superior research conditions, etc.).
So, other things being equal,
able academics from the Antipodes will relocate in USA as academic positions
become available. The argument also helps explain why Antipodean universities
cannot expect, for the most part, to attract really top-drawer Northerners for
very long.

Of course, economically irrelevant factors do induce interference; e.g.
perverse commitments to odd-ball Antipodean intellectual enterprises which
reduce market acceptability, or pre-industrial ties to place or persons or
lifestyle which unduly restrict mobility (such as local roots,
family
attachments, even distaste for American urban lifestyles).

regularly drive out local contenders for positions,

if we only preferred the

Northerners when they were quite visibly superior: rather we are inundated by

Americans with inflated references, who have the messages of the centre better
do,

locals

than

higher-echelon

remote

and

Northern

Northern

(often

biassed)

fields

appointment

locals whose shortcomings are known better.
the Northern centres

too,

tend

greener

look

to

committees

dusty

than

As is beginning to be recognised

retain their higher-quality products,

tend to

to

and

allow them to be exiled to the periphery only if they somehow fall foul of the
system (e.g. of the academic system for political or personal reasons).

the

often

Northern

centres

have

intellectually

their

disposed of

Too

inferior

products in the periphery.

All this makes the position look doubly bad. We ought,

appointing Northerners,

especially Americans,

even

seems,

to

be

if they are overrated

in

it

their references, and usually not out of the top drawer, in order to maximize

quality.

And yet

doing so does not achieve the desired quality result, and

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

Fortunately
shaky arguments;
and

obtain

we

from

this

awkward

and that is the way of regionalism.

sufficient

subtitutable for us.

before

is a way out

there

elaborate

cultural

distance,so

that

situation

these

and

We do our own things;
they

are

not

simply

Then the shaky numerical argument does fall down.
the

emerging

proposal

there

are

other

But

influential

.
.
This is easier in the cultural than the technological sphere.
However it
is
also
possible technologically:
(stronger)
theses of
technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.
9

8

arguments to dispose of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

There is,

to begin with,

far been conceded:

have so

elements of which

the argument for excellence,

that

there is an objective commodity, quality or

excellence, which we all more or less

which is

agree about,

proportionately

in the North, and which is what academic institutions crave and

more abundant

seek and what appointments aim to capture,

indeed maximize.

That at least

is

the type of myth most of us have encountered; and many of us now know it is a
in

myth,

fact

appointments

profit,

a

that

dangerous

myth.

way,

more

any

Most
that

don’t

places

organisations

aim

but rather seek to satisfice on a mix of factors,

quality is

to

try

even

just

to

make

maximize

of which assessed

only one, and not often the highest ranking one.

Ability to fit

into some sort of program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more
Important factor;

and there

is no good reason why such a program should not

sometimes be a regionally oriented one.

So given

the

prevailing practices,

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

And,

in any event, there are enough local candidates of sufficient worth to proceed
with

regional

programs

without

sacrifice

clearcut

of

excellence.

Local

enterprise need entail no loss of excellence, and could well increase it.

The deeper-cutting objection is that there is something seriously amiss

with

the

idea

of

objective

objective

importance;

criticism

as

bracketed

out

notions
the

that

of

excellence,
these

objective

and

notions

values

with

are

open

more

contextual-relativisation

the
to

connected
the

generally,

component

of

same
that

notion

of

sorts

of

they

valuing:

have

the

’S-

9

framework or viewpoint
within

rather

a

to which these values relate.^

narrow

such

paradigm,

intellectual

While those operating
as

Oxbridge

ordinary

language philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint,.

since

it

Incorporated

is

operational

the

in

paradigm,

and

so

at

arrive

seemingly objective quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.
in

truth

va1ue)

when

Marxist

viewpoints.

quality

or

worth

Consider,
of

a

other

to

transposed

for

forest,

frameworks,

the

comparison,

made

variously

by

of

a

holistically-inclined

judgements
a

deep

environmental

who

seemingly because

pretend

that

environmental

such

it is not done

by members

of

as

or

to

rhe

an

ecologist,

philosopher,

language, Marxist, and Californian environmental philosophers.

philosophers

idealistic

Compare judgements as to the

industrial forester, and a recreational officer.

quality

e.g.

work

by

ordinary

There are even

cannot

be

judged,

the main philosophical

peer

group at Harvard and like institutions.

As this
judgements

of

begins to

the.

reveal,

importance

judgements

of

work

of quality are not Independent of

done

or

problems

tackled.

importance of problems and issues is highly paradigm dependent.

But

the

For example,

problems such as those of quant if ying-in and of possible worlds and of de re
thought, which assume immense importance for fashionable referential theories
within the mainstream empiricist paradigm, vanish

outside

that

restricted viewpoint.

Now observe

to relative
that most

insignificance

judgements as

to

What follows also begins to bring out what is omitted in a main theme of
R.S. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance, Bodley Head, London,
1974.
Note that defusing the notion of objective excellence does not lead to
subjectivism.
To avoid the customary false dichotomy, compare the notion of
validity (usually ceded to themselves these days by classical logicians) with
that of quality.

10
what are the important problems and what constitutes important work - matters

helping

quality

determine

-

is

relative

to

their

concerned are

exported

to

the Antipodes

importance

down

shipped

are

paradigmatic

from

the

and

placement,

through

the

Their

North.11

paradigms

the

main channels

already

indicated.

We are free to reject these paradigms and select alternatives, and

there are,

it can be argued, good reasons to do just that, much as there are

to

reasons

good

choose

different

energy technology

(or different

military

technology) from that generally favoured in the North which the North is eager
to export southwards.

Similar

which

points

against

alternatively

might

argument,

apply

that

be

-marketed

mass-produced

and

cosmopolitan.

The argument

called

people

sophisticated

from

cosmopolitan/international

the

the

Peter

everywhere

Holland;

international

Stuyvesant

smoke

this

argument

superior

product

cigarette-sophistication

is

is based on the assumption that philosophy is a

’cosmopolitan subject’, that is is not the sort of enterprise for which place

and

people

are

significant

as

they

are

for

poetry

assumption has only to be presented to be questioned.
for one important thing,

that philosophy is a

or

the

novel.12

The

It takes for granted,

finished product

sort (a propositional theory), not a process of production also.

of a

certain

But in the

Often enough fashionability is mistaken for importance. As to the
unsatisfactory way in which such "important" problems are commonly set, see
F. Dyson, ’Unfashionable pursuits’, The Mathematical Intelligencer 5 (1983)

47-54.
12 Grave, op.cit., p.2:

-------

the term ’cosmopolitan subject' used there comes
from Donegan. As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
further C. Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam,
1982.

11

process of production the place and people involved (e.g.

in discussion) are

ot

material.

if

And

the

product

Is

like

a

work

of

like

art,

a

d

literature,

not

and

1

just

theorems

and

arguments

assembled

piece

of

in

an

internationally-approved format, 13 then again the historical setting matters,

since

philosophy,

more

no

than

literature,

does

not

in

emerge

a

vacuum.

Plato s philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if cribbed

in mid 20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.

It

is important not to be sidetracked into issues ~ resembling problems

in aesthetics

extent sets

that

do not

need to

of themes and arguments

be contested,

such as whether and

what

produced in one place and setting could

have been produced in another. A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be

adopted
prospect

in

but

Europe

that

New

apparently will

Zealand,

nonnuclear energy strategy.

rasters

here.

Dialethic

in

not

contrast

be,
with

whereas

there

Australia,

is

will

reasonable
pursue

a

It is the doing, and not what could be done, that
logic,

which

invalidates

methodology of much Anglo-American philosophy, could

the

technique

perhaps be

done in

and
the

North (though there would be substantial cultural resistance): it is not being

13tLike a paper in the biological sciences.

But here again technique
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

x4Related points

can be made using

less extreme examples, e.g.

and

concerning

modern American work.
Consider, for Instance such texts as W.V. Quine’s Word
ajll—(Wiley, Now York, 1960) or R. Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia
(Basic Books, New York, 1974).
The assumptions taken for granted" the
arguments involved, etc., are especially American: it is not just the style.
The acceptability of arguments and positions is dependent on place and
received paradigm.

12

done there, and is not likely to be done in the Anglo-American sphere.15
this

extent,

logical

can

Antipodeans

techniques,

do

choose

their

their

own

international/cosmopolitan argument,

own

distinctive

distinctive

technology

thing.

stated in a form that would be

To

and
The

telling,

fails.

Of course

it can be argued,

it is being argued,

that Antipodeans don’t

need to be, or even oughtn’t to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies
and apparatus.

But meeting these considerations takes us to a whole new set

of issues concerning the merit of various policies and programs,

diversity, etc. - far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.

the point of

The new arguments, to

which we shall return, are not a lot more convincing however than comparable
arguments

concerning

cooking:

that

we don’t

devising our own cuisine or wine styles.

need

to

be or

oughtn’t

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

cooking is adequate: we should stick to that and buy it off the shelf from the
North,

ideally

importing the

cooks also.

Do we have good reasons

to

think

that British philosophy is better, these days, than British cooking?

Antipodeans are free,

in principle then,

to pursue their own paradigms;

and to do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their
own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who have (had)

15

Much as communist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
communities in Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
the extreme possessive individualism of that culture.

On dialethic logic, see G. Priest and R. Routley, On Paraconsistency,
Research Papers in Logic, #13, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian
National University, 1983.

13

to be re-educated, from elsewhere, in particular from the North.
Intellectual paradigms
features

of

the

local

pursued tie with cultural paradigms, with distinctive
culture?

In a

at

loose way,

least,

they may

tie in with the

philosophy will not usually

though works of

But will the

link,

culture in

the

integral fashion that novels (as distinct from more technical works) sometimes

do.

Indeed,

certain

to

a

cultural

limited

extent,

features,

not

they

restricted

to

hastens

to

though
add.

this

But

is

style,

compared

with

acceptability,

what

philosophical

particular

programs, that help mark philosophy in Australia as
’unimportant

Grave considers

do already link.

’an Australian product’ -

matters

truth,

philosophy’

in

do matter,

and are

he
not

Independent - or independent so far as their perception goes in the case
truth and correctness

of

- from underlying broad theory or received paradigm.

However the marks which can be extracted from Grave,

significant though

they are, do not serve to distinguish the Australian product,

the first

two

being features Australian philosophy exhibits in lesser degree than the more
adventurous and polemical philosophy of Greek antiquity.

by Passmore

as

’most

typical

of Australian

philosophy’,

The first, described
is

a

'diversity of

approach and readiness to put forward an unconventional or unfashionable point

’Nothing need be conceded to strong cultural relativity themes, though they
would support the case.
It is enough that our theories remain radically
incomplete and that there can accordingly be rival theories as to what is
true.
Similarly, however philosophy is conceived - as the search for truth,
explanation, understanding and wisdom (all of these and more, really), or as,
more vaguely, inquiry of a certain sort - there can be, and will be, competing
accounts; so a pluralistic theory is inevitable in giving a fuller view.

view’, 17

of

something

philosophy,

some

(with

which

typical

more

of

philosophy

ancient

notable

exceptions)

than

exhibits

an

Canada,

is that

Africa,

South

adventurous

compared with other recent

diverse.

and

provincial

and

The

second,

and

...

the

line-up

between

Australian

more

manifestoed character’ of Australian philosophy,
being

"Oxbridge colonies",

England,

far

from

Australian

philosophy

isolated:

others

mark

surprising,

materialism ,
departments

the

and

Melbourne

(both

confrontation concerning the

them concern

extraordinary

discussed

the

political
by

is

is
’the

’the most notable example ...

Wittgensteinian

among

such as

philosophy

Andersonian
This example

Sydney, if it was not the Andersonian philosophy Itself’ (p.2).

is

austere

What may be

uniformity reflecting that often attributed to the land Itself.

nearer true

Australian

fervour generated

engagement

Grave),

some

growing

the

and

relevant/paraconsistent program,

by

by

with the

local

(’adversarial’) style leading to sharp criticism by Americans. Connected with

these

first

philosophy,

century

two

as

Cambridge

marks
of much

are

further

characteristics

of

much

18th century Scottish philosophy and

philosophy:

namely

directness,

Australian

turn-of-this-

unwillingness

to

muffle

points, surface clarity, and, some would unkindly add (in the hope perhaps of

locating a genuine difference), bluntness, unsubtlety and crudity.

17

Both preceding quotations, while included as such in Grave’s Introduction,
are from J. Passmore, ’Philosophy’, in The Pattern of Australian Culture (ed.
A.L. McLeod), Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1963, pp.131-168.
The
same annotation also applies to the third mark.
18

Ihough again for the most part that influenced by Sydney rather than that
originating in Melbourne.
To some extent this reflects the different
historical influences shaping Sydney and Melbourne philosophy: roughly,
Scottish as opposed to Continental antecedents.

15

third

The

and

the

fourth

but again

very different,

marks are

hardly

distinguishing features of Australian philosophy as Grave, who wouldn't

them marks at all, in effect observes.
Intellectual

is

areas,

the

The third, which applies well to other

of

contrast

Australian

the

reputation

the anti-intellectual national stereotype of Australians as a people
to

physical achievement

nark

ia

especially

isolation

of

a

academic

rather

than

feature

of

philosophy

indifference or even hostility to,

to

intellectual

Anglo-American

Australasia

in

subtlety'.

'devoted
fourth

The

philosophy;
from,

in

Inquiry', with

'center of philosophical

Indeed of Australia as a

philosophy,

call

namely

its

and

the

general

the sort of imported philosophy (e.g.

that

of Nietzsche and the existentialists) generating Interest in literary and arts

circles.

The failure of such marks to entirely separate out Australian philosophy

does

not

For

matter.

thing,

one

separated by its research projects.

confused

with

nationalism,

nor

Australian

the

produce

as

encouraged;

and

in

most

the new

other

more

regional

things,

regionalism

sufficiently

For another, regionalism should not be
positions

such as

materialism or Wellington modal!sm with national philosophies.

philosophy,

is

is

is

an

undesirable

commonly linked,

Sydneyside

Nationalism in

trait,

not

in other

to

be

cultural

things, with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state power.19

19c
See, e.g.,
London, 1957.

Sale,

op.cit.,

and L.

Kohr,

The

Breakdown of Nations,

RKP,

The Editor of the new 1923 AJPP did
however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of (what must have
surprised some New Zealand readers) an
Australian Philosophy; some of the issu<
s there raised (p.292ff) are addressed
in Appendix 1.

To get back to where we were:

emerging proposal

the

is

this,

that we

start - or better much Increase - doing our own distinctive things, and that
we

team up

so.

to do

there are

In fact

that begin

several suggestions

to

emerge, concerning research and teaching, publications and appointments, study

These are not just that we do our own selection

leave and sponsored visitors.

of

topics

and

people,

and

style

and

decide

methods,

our

priorities,

own

instead of having these foisted upon us - not just, that is, that we play our
own games (whether invented here or taken over from the North) and not theirs,
Rules and Rugby instead of Gridiron and Basketball - but that we abandon the

individual competitive model of cultural achievement, sold to us and fostered
by the North, in favour of a group cooperative approach (elements of which are
already modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

The

thoughts

here are

digging example,

ditch

more

separately.

rapidly

simple and

On

familiar.

the

side

is

the

it Is well-known that two people cooperating can dig a

and

enjoyably

than

two

people

working

on

the

ditch

Cooperative work tends to pay off - in philosophy or elsewhere -

in terms of output, quality, and enjoyment in the doing.
experience

one

shows

that we

successfully with
several reasons

periphery cannot

the centre on achievements

for this.

highly competitive

in the

One

in

On the other side,

individually compete very

their

programs.

is the communication situation.

There are
Despite the

predominantly individualistic
nature of American academic

17

enterprise,

20

communication

much

in the

attainment of

and

access

to

work is

jointly based,

individualism myth,

unpublished

material.

nationalistic

are

and the assignment of credit for it.

considerations

same

verbally

conveyed.

tend

to

time

and

as

There

an outsider).

through

face-to-face

Here

There are a mix of reasons

(e.g.

Polish results, Russians will cite a Russian who

the

the

several clever people will be

again people at the periphery tend to lose out.
there

despite

Then again communications are important in obtaining rapid

publication of the idea or result,

Again

For,

verbal

and builds on the work of many;

when the time is ripe for some idea or result,

able to hit on it.

upon rapid

results depends

Poles

tend

to

promote.

achieves a result at about

is

the

fact

that

seminars

so

that

local

much

is

results

conveyed
will

be

There is the fact of limited reading, and that people at the centre
concentrate when

they read

on material

from the

centre by

central

people, so that published items and results from the periphery will often not

be noticed, and may well lose out to central competitors even if they achieve

central publication.
receive,

merit

There is also the fact that people at the centre tend to

for merit,

more

publication

than people towards the periphery.

and

communication

opportunities

Here economic factors do begin to enter;

consider the size and distribution of the academic market (there are, e.g., a

great many more academic philosophers in North America than in the whole rest
of the world), control of publishing outlets and journals (with few exceptions

20

Reflecting other features of the culture and enterprise of the centre
which are not so deeply embedded in Australasia: see further R. Routley,
’Culture,
philosophy,
and approaches
to the natural environment - an
Australian perspective',
in The
Environment,
Ethics
and Ecology
(ed.
D. Bennett), The Faculties, Australian National University, 1984, and also
'Culture and the roots of social and political divergence, with emphasis on
the Australian/American contrast’, typescript, Canberra, 1983; both referred
to subsequently as ’Culture’.

18

all Northern),

ere.

However economic power does not, and need not, determine

culture - we can shut off the Northern philosophical propaganda

shut off our television sets If we really want to.

way we

by

Impressed

being

middle-men

philosophical

those

And we can stop

make

who

in much the

living

a

by

importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do? We adapt to the cultural-philosophical level,
of those things, that have been suggested In the newer regionalism.

some

regional

awakeningand

importer..

andimitators

doctrines

and

and local

For

We alm at

not remain slavish

We do

on

commentators

the North.

example,

and

we

peddlars

don’t

spend

of,
our

trying totease out what Davidson or Dummett or Kripke meant by

in the hope that

or that

To be

through.

of,

positions from

academic lives

this

local self-reliance.

several

sure,

I

some pale Northern light

suggesting

am not

we

that

will perhaps

emulate

filter

appalling

the

ignorance of people from the North who visit the Antipodes and know little or

nothing about

eminent
through

what has been done or

visitors,

their

Australian

the

bags

heavy

National

is being done here;21

with

cultural

(now

University

so that we have

accoutrements,

main

the

trekking

centre

for

Investigation of relevant logics) and informing us that, or relying crucially

on the assumption that, a contradiction entails every proposition.
that

these

Northerners

know

often

little

positions and advances is the Antipodes is

inferiority

colonies;

21

of

cultural

another

is

the

and

Intellectual

narrow

or

nothing

about

One reason

distinctive

the prevailing assumption of
life

(predominantly

in

these

local)

and

former
limited

the

southern

reading

Regrettably, the ignorance extends to many locals.
In particular
those
_nrected with Sydney materialism appear remarkably ill-informed as to’ basic
features of other Australasian programs.

undertaken by Northern luminaries.

But,

having

despite

been

given

cause,

sufficient

we

shouldn’t

cut

ourselves off from Northern paradigms and influences (we could hardly manage

to anyway,

propaganda is different).

so we should stay informed of, but not imitators

these continuing traditions:
of, or part of,

their enterprises.

m older Northern traditions,
So

far

from

cutting

these

nowhere,

loose

In any case,

regional cultures are rooted

just as the people are largely European stock.

from

(and

older

We can reasonably use what we need from

these

likely

traditions and

traditions,

minority)

from

starting afresh
and

the

local

variations that have already appeared are what we want to develop and perhaps

mutate, as again with wine styles.

Part

of

the

things, encourage

proposal

then

that

Northern paradigms.

increasingly

rather than working with

and so shape newer

try

to

to create

fortunately,

features of

of

cultural

the larger culture.22

do we need to make the story up - though helping to shape

is part of what

the proposal

is about.

is a different and

Much of

more difficult

already indicated in Grave’s survey of Australian philosophy.

22

local

For there are research programs already initiated, which have the

Australia - New Zealand

has

own

our

It is not as if we have to build from nothing, to do -

very great advantage of being grounded in

the future

do

pale northern reflections

very difficult - entirely original work,

components.

Nor,

we

and develop our own research programs,

Antipodean paradigms,

wnat is

is

the

story,

proposition -

for

is

All one really

to do is to bring out programs he has already indicated and provide some

See Culture, op.cit.

20

To pull the investigation down to a more concrete

elaboration and commentary.

I shall sketch some more prominent cooperative programs - by no means

level,

the only programs - and remark on some relevant features of them.

The longest running and best known program is, without much doubt,

of

naturalism,

Australian

and

which

aims

to

see

the

that

world,

natural

and

everything else, as suitably encompassed within the framework of the world of
(physical)

science.

program

The

is

generally

back

traced

to

Anderson’s

empiricist metaphysics,^^ and is now best exhibited in Armstrong’s work.

contains

as

a major

materialism,

subprogram Sydney

Adelaide which subsequently died out there.

such famous

components as

central

state

version

of

failures

in

program initiated

and

nowadays

Faced

functionalism.

reduction

plans,

like
it

it

takes

in,

identity theme and

more derivatively,

physicalisms

all

now

in

The latter program has included

the mental-material contingent

materialism,

its

a

It

incorporates

with

a

a

conspicuous

"scientifically"

trimmed theory of universals, and an account of natural laws as relations of
universals, both components of

the developing

Sydney realism.

Parts of the

naturalism program, especially materialism and central state reductionism and
the unified science ideal, have had counterparts in the North, but the program

has,

for

the most

part,

despite export efforts,

smoothly, moreover,
and

earthy, so

retained

its

distinctively

it never caught on in New Zealand.

into Australian culture.

far as

Australian character

philosophy can

""^Anderson’s metaphysics

was however

-

The program fits

It is similarly down-to-earth,

be, without

the fancy ideas or effete

far more opposed

to reductions

than

what has succeeded it. For an account of Anderson’s philosophy, and a history
and account of Australian naturalism and materialism, see especially Grave,
op.cit.

idealism of European philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanism
with

much

which

pragmatism).

of

yet

And

and

commitments,

North

American
does

it

though it

is

thinking

not

simmers

shrink

from

metaphysical

explicit

it

is not

from

the

basically empiricist,

nowadays,

(including

positivistic

(rejecting a verification principle, in particular).

It

is

a

city

program,

based

broadcast

mainly

University

of

Sydney to other metropolitan universities; but the program does extend outside
the universities a bit (a tiny bit) to the larger metropolitan culture.
No th America,
the

broader

Russell,

so in Australasia, little professional philosophy Impinges on

+

community,

Popper

AusLralasia

As in

and

would

be

or

Kuhn

quite

even on
being

an

the wider academic

(To

exceptional.

achievement,

one

community,

turn

worth

this

working

work by

around

for.)

now reaches

in
The

naturalism program used

to

Perth, and

in Canberra, as well as a core of opposition there.

has outliers

stretch

Apart from notable exceptions,
more than a rather

through

to

Adelaide;

the program has never had

precarious hold,

it

the

in Melbourne:nor, more

same

hold,

to

or

surprisingly,

24,
Jn Canada, for example, while most academics from other disciplines would
know of, and perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of
Wittgenstein (though he is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually
none would know of Quine.
(The sampling Is subjective.)
On the fairly recent ’triumph of professionalism’ in philosophy in USA, see
Kuklick, op.cit., p.565ff.
Kuklick brings out well some of the more
disastrous features of professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that
the
virtuous
features
resulting
from some
professionalisation can
be
synthesized with broader philosophical activity.
25

The exceptions include Ellis's distinctive program, which can be accounted
part of the broader naturalist program, and at Monash the work of F. Jackson
and, earlier, of H. Munro in value theory.

22

has it had heavyweight criticism from there (or indeed much external criticism

from elsewhere),

Melbourne

out.

the old confrontation of major city philosophies having died
is more

philosophy

stricken than Sydney; Melbourne

by

dominated
Continental

a

philosophy;

then,

a

fashions:

Northern

recently,

more

philosophy;

remarkable

religion

philosophy, much more than Sydney, has been

of

procession

historically oriented and more

Quine,

Davidson

and

and

language

ordinary

Wittgenstein,

turnabout,

idealism

earlier

extensional

reduction; now perhaps Lewis,iKripke and Dummett?

one

The

program

reaches

that

beyond

confines

the

of

the

cities

in

Australia - which is after all a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land

always

being

the other

-

a rather

Australian environmentalism,

is

diffuse

program, which has connections with the Colleges of Advanced Education in the

country towns and the communes on the North Coast.

So far the program is as

much distinguished

is.

environmental

Europe

by what

positions are

specifically having

it

a

not

is

as

feature of

what

it

Serious

the New World,

of

transformed most

its

and

deeper

the Old World,

and

environment

and

natural

having little wild untouched country left, and little sensitivity accordingly

to

issues

Europe
that

such as

tend

admit

European

those

to concern

of
the

wilderness.
built

shallow approaches
superficiality

environmentalism

outside

continues
North

environmental

human-transformed

and

(and

The main

encourage
to

America.

environment,

techno-fix

dominate
North

much

Issues

situations).

of

American

the

New

in

issues
And
World

environmentalism

differs significantly however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

in

the

religious-spiritual

component

respects as well (see further Culture).

of

the

former,

but

in

several

other

23

More positively, there are three strands to Australian environmentalism:Firstly, there is an extended utilitarianism, differing little in theory from

Bentham’s enlarged position, which insists upon counting in the utilities of

creatures.

all sentient
figured

though

prominently
it

This

in animal

focussed

has

position,

developed

from a British base,

has

animal

liberation movements:

and

welfare and

on domestic

animals,

animals

used

in

and

research

hunted (wild) animals, it has also become entangled in issues of bio-research
more generally such as genetic engineering.

or much

interested in,

endangered species,

the conversion of forests,

animal pain and pleasure.

except

deal.

Secondly,

utilitarian

forests and

differs

insofar as

these have a

and

which

American
Thirdly,

naturalism.26

inadequate

there is a wider and a deeper ecological position, which is

recognises

irreducible

which finds

value

elsewhere

intrinsic value

ecosystems, especially wild and natural systems.

from

lands,

bearing on

and so deeper concerns get an

psychological states,

sentience or

the disappearance of wild

Wider and deeper environmental concerns appear only

spinoff from animal welfare,

as a

not

etc.,

It is not however concerned with,

and

spiritualism

is

there

of

from

an

extension

than

in trees

and

This

position

of

American

course

as

almost

everywhere,

a

reactionary component, critical of the other strands, which Insists that all
that

needs

to be

accomplished

on

the

environmental

front

can

be

achieved

within older established (European) ethical and political frameworks.

Whereas materialism is

based in Sydney, environmentalism is centred

in

Melbourne and Canberra, but also includes Brisbane and Perth. Also centred in

described more
fully elsewhere:
see,
in particular,
<ed- D- Mannison and others), RSSS, Australian
National University, 1980.
It

has

been

Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections in Melbourne,
few

but

in

Sydney,

is

the

materialism and

environmental

further

from

input

affecting
program

other

which

program,

elsewhere.

and

and

is

of

Includes

more

to

extends

essentially

philosophy,
centres

New

in metaphysics,

with

respectively,

the

theory

value

a

Zealand ,

program,

logic

especially

in

the

Whereas

but

one

metaphysics.

Australia

than

has

been

also

any

The

other

described

27

The main

logic

perhaps
which

program

areas

major

their core

programs have

epistemology

relevant/paraconsistent

program.

relevant/paraconsistent.

grounded

research program evident

program.

in New Zealand

from the work of

A program emanating

located mainly in Wellington,

philosophy

is

also a

Prior and

now

it might be. called the extended modal program.

The impact of the program on philosophy is

perhaps best

seen in Cresswell’s

work.

Australian philosophy used to be known,
for its hard-headed empiricism;

not

known

and still

is in some quarters,

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly

for anything much, except

perhaps, in UK,

that Prior brought

his

27

Again, like all the Australian programs, both those mentioned and others,
in Grave, op.cit. But see further, R.
Routley,
’Research in Logic in
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania’, Research Papers in Logic #14, Australian
National University, 1983 (which also considers other programs in logic);
G. Priest and R. Routley, op. cit.; and R. Routley, R.K. Meyer and others,
Relevant Logics and Their Rivals, Ridgeview, California, 1982.
28

See especially M.J. Cresswell, Logics and Languages, Methuen, London,
1973; but see also work by Goldblatt and by Hughes referred to in Research in
Logic, op.cit.
Also described there is an original version of the modal
program (transparent intensional logic) elaborated by Tichy at Otago.

25

unusual adaption of Russellian philosophy from that remote place.

Neither of

these impressions is particularly accurate; both are rather out-of-date.

But

the aim of work of the present type is, of course, not just to correct these
impressions,

not just

to reflect or report on culture - for what one would

like to reflect upon is not sufficiently there - but also to help manufacture
elements of a culture, to make an image.

To

resist

the

already flourishing

North,

we

should

increase

our

efforts

to

programs, and perhaps other sunrise projects;

further

29

the

to build

teaching and research around the programs selected for promotion, elaboration,

and criticism, to orient appointments, especially of involved local people, to

29

Among sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested (not all
of them feasible) are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social and
political alternatives,
peace
studies,
indigenous
regional
philosophies
(especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian). Another promising field,
with practical consequences,
for local initiative is the philosophy of
education, where material produced by R.S. Peters has dominated the market,
with stultifying effects it is now alleged.
As foreshadowed with the notion of "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric,
and argument, concerning science and technology policy (presented in the case
of Australia in Jones, op.cit.) can be taken over to apply to X policy, where
X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.

/

26

on

Why bother?

these programs.

Why not simply buy our philosophy, like almost

all our technology, off the shelf, from the North? There are several arguments
for not doing this, in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched.

There

is,

firstly,

Northern products,

the

inferiority

despite their

and

built-in

attractive packaging.

obsolence

of

most

putting

too

fine a point on it, many of the imported intellectual goods are shoddy,

and

Without

only work for a very limited range of applications (e.g.

the

vicinity

Antipodean

of

contradictions

philosophy

dilemmas).

or

undoubtedly

derives

from

Much

they’re hopeless in
that

shoddy

is

wrong

intellectual

with

goods

30

In fact something like the last has been the policy of the LSE Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a long period was that of
Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically).
As observed, it now
looks like the practice of the Otago Department also; and apparently it used
to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most places the practice is condemned as
nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for "new (Northern)
blood".
However there can be significant differences between nepotistic
appointments and those strengthening local programs.

It is at this stage, among others that administrative measures do matter;
for example, to ensure that suitable locally-engaged locals gain employment
rather than Northern stooges, to direct funds into on-going local programs
rather than imported fashions, etc.
There are various ways appropriate
administrative details can be handled, locally or nationally; but nothing
draconian, such as wholesale exclusion of noncitizens, is required.
Observe, indeed, that no restriction of academic appointments to nationals
(in Canadian style) or the like is being advocated.
Anyone who arrives at a
conclusion of that sort from what has been argued has misunderstood the case
in crucial
respects.
As a matter of
simple mathematics,
restricting
appointment fields characteristically reduces both quality of candidates
available (however quality is assessed) and range of possibilities open for
future research; and no such restrictions are advocated.
The author has
witnessed the debilitating effects of field restrictions at the Australian
National University and elsewhere.

31

Some of these
centre also.

arguments

support

change

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

27

Yet buying this material is encouraged by hard-sell

imported from the North.

cultural ambassadors from the North, who are often enough paid Lo visit.
is

part of

Northern

the

philosophical imperialism from the North —

colonialism

that

-

the

Antipodes

too

willing

This

the successor

suffers,

or,

to

more

remarkable, encourages I

Secondly, there is the inappropriateness of much of the Northern product,

especially

considered

as

a

metaphysics, environmental

package,

concerns.

to

instance,

for

cover,

well

as

as

The European North has no satisfactory

land or environmental ethic fit for Antipodean circumstances, and the deeper

American

package

too

is

spiritually-loaded

mainstream

for

Australian

In political theory, American work is much too individualistic and

culture.

competition-based, and

the European product, especially the Marxist form,

unsuited being both too

precious and

for local

too high-tech

is

circumstances,

especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

features

of

telling

also

Thirdly,

import

world’s markets

power structures

against

substitution

and

comparative

advantage,

regionalism;

namely,

and pressures and fashions,

(including the Old Boy’s

are

appealing

avoidance

of

the

removal of overseas control

and

network in

jobs,

policies,

etc.),

and gaining of local control, employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly,

32

there

are

arguments

for

cultural

diversity,

applied

to

The point is elaborated in Culture.
At a more practical level Northern
products are again often unsuitable, though for different reasons.
For
example, the transfer of American agricultural methods and equipment to the
thin poor soils of the Antipodes has had disastrous effects, at last beginning
to be recognised.

28

philosophy

as

complexity,

sheer

part

of

intellectual

diversity,

stability,

culture:
etc.33

arguments

In fact,

built into the whole notion of 'culture’ transfers.
dense,

Naturally we want a rich,
weeds and many

We obtain not only good products,

being introduced.

Indian maize

and European cultivars, but European pests and American weeds.

selectiveness

and

control

are

essential,

as

richness,

the garden analogy

But not only seeds and plants but

productive garden.

pests are

from

This is why

previous

against

haphazard

procedures.

The proposal is not for, nor would the case sustain, a narrow localism,

with local products, whatever their quality,
heroes, replacing Northern ones.

local fashions,

and local cq|t

That is certainly not the preferred way of

the newer regionalism, which tends to do without fashions and heroes and which
seeks durable quality in products, low environmental impact, and so on; nor is
it the way of technology policy.

Rather, as with technology policy, we select

niches which are not occupied or satisfactorily filled,

where we

difference, and use and develop local skills and methods.

has

to

outlets,

be

selective

etc.).

given

our

resource

But granting regionalism,

base

(of

can make a

Indeed the policy

philosophers,

publishing

to what extent should components,

for instance people, books and other teaching elements, theories and ideas, be

imported

and

to

what

extent

should

they

be

produced,

trained,

conceived

locally? The possibility of selectiveness in different components means that
many mixes are possible.

particular mix.

There is no need to insist,

so far at least, on a

The case for the present is mainly for a regional shift,

for

33c
See, for instance, A.A. Mazrui, A World Federation of Cultures: An African
Perspective, Free Press, New York, 1976.
------ -- ---------- ---

a significantly greater degree of local autonomy and production.

But it

will do

local favour.

no harm

Negatively,

elements

Indicate

to

of a mix

removal

of

the

Locke-Berkelcy-Hume

undue

(a

that

finds much

the suggestion is that we try to eradicate much of

the Oxford style of teaching and doing philosophy.
as

Q/

on

emphasis

standard

British

That includes such things
empiricism

British

focus);

of

the

centred

on

quasi-historleal

approach with however no proper attention to sources; of reinforcement of the

prevailing

Anglo-American

status

quo.

The

heavy

particular, has mostly been a very conservative one.
the

main

movements

philosophy,

but

emanating

also

the

from

England,

Moore-Wittgenstein

Oxford

influence,

in

More generally, many of

especially
practice,

ordinary

have

language

been

very

protective of the Northern status quo; they tend to leave things very much as

they

are,

and

recommend

just

this.

35

Positively,

the

proposal

is

that we

achieve further disassociation from the Anglo-American empiricist past in two

34

Does it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should. For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs, is
regional, not global: this is supposed to shed great light on our previously
confused defence policies.

35

The point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words_ and Things, Victor Gollancz,
London, 1959.
But even ordinary language philosophy, though conservative, and
though it much contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations,
had its liberating elements, e.g. removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.

Nor has the social impact changed much with the subsequent decline, since
1959, of ordinary language philosophy, the increasing insolvency of Oxbridge
philosophy, and its consequent limited take-over by right-wing Ivy League
American philosophy.
By contrast, the less economically influential growth of
redbrick and applied philosophy
in some of the
British redbrick and
polytechnic institutes has touched no more than the surface of Oxbridge
practice.

30

by

ways:

local

emphasizing

framework,

by

and

diversifying

move

that

projects

of

range

the

outside

constricting

that

traditions

philosophical

selectively drawn upon, to include not only neglected Continental strands and

but also

parts of Eastern thought,

The

philosophy.

is

idea

that

Pacific ethnic material and Australasian

plurality of

such a

especially

sources,

in

teaching, will assist in removing narrower cultural biasses, such as British

parochialism,

enable more

and

discrimination

be obtained.

to

Then

too we

should be better able to see the ranges of theories that are open to us in the

Antipodes and how to advance our own programs.

There remain some things we should want to see whatever mixes are chosen
One crucial issue is the removal of Northern

in different Antipodean regions.

bias from papers and publications, research seminars and lectures, letters of
This Northern bias is a disposition to cite and discuss

reference, and so on.

the

projects

and

works

irrespective

and

discussion

the

of

to

of

Northern

quality
ignore

of

the

authors,

their

works

the

more

of

authors,

local

irrespective of the quality of their contribution.

defer to

write oi
not

been

opinions of worth,

importance,

It

etc.

better,

topic

again

under
largely

It is the disposition to

authors from prestigious Northern institutions,

accept their

the

to

contribution

the

famous

is

and to uncritically

the disposition

to

lecture as though work produced locally either does not exist or has
influential

philosopl e s,

are,

(thus

if

ensuring

anything,

more

that

it

Inclined

is
to

not).
Northern

And

Australasian

bias

than

many

overseas intellectuals, who are perhaps less concerned to be seen as belonging
to the Northern mainstream.

bias

affects

not

only

the

The reduction, and eventual removal,
practice

of

Individual

of Northern

philosophers,

but

the

policies of selection and review committees as well as of editors and referees

31

of

local

reorientation,
innovations

It

journals.

with

better,

involves,

philosophers

Antipodean

so

they

among

can

cite

work

initiatives and developments - things that would b<

content

in courses

leave, and so on.

taught,

more

time

spent

at

intellectual

to know local

getting

local

things,

other

or

point

out

work and
regional

assisted by greater local

local

institutions on

study

32

APPENDIX 1.

considering

the

corresponding

initial

Lebensanchauung’

argument

Philosophy
both

Anderson,

as

is

truth

and

its

theory may not

a

that

be

or

confirmation

independent of national sympathies or prejudices'.
mean

Science’.

The

’are

falsification

Granted: but that does not

fostered, etc.,

held,

and

Weltanschauung

Christian

a

as

senses

two

’a scheme of the universe’,

that of

ridiculous

(Australian)

distinguished

between

distinction

In the first,

(p.292).

that

is

German

the

Philosophy’,

National

a

Francis

AJPP,

’the

to

’an Australian

of

possibility

’the

of

Editor

In

On the earlier idea of a National Philosophy for Australia.

in one

region but

not

others, as intultionism was for long in in Holland, or Cartesianism in France.

In a second 'more intimate and personal’ way,

'a nation like an individual may

develop a certain temperamental attitude to the problems of existence, which
we may

A nation’s philosophy, like its art

... call its philosophy of life.

and its literature,

is a mode of expression for

the national

It is a specialised form of the national genius ....’
short, part of the evolving national culture.

is

by

no

entirely

means

from

separate

(pp.292-3).

It is,

in the first place,

But,

initial

the

consciousness.

sense,

a

in

this

philosophy

comprising not merely a fairly comprehensive theory but also an integrated set

of attitudes (like an operational paradigm).
are such items as

accounted

’the national consciousness’ and
units

single

philosophy,

like

particularly

Furthermore, only by concession

meriting

Australian

distinctive

(in

definite

of

literature,

has

any

sense):

does

not

Australian

descriptors.

many
such

'the Australian landscape'

strands
things

to

form

it,

some

rather

not

loose

families.
Anderson

does

not

find,

really

hope

to

find

in

’a

modern

industrialised community’ - with its modular parts interchangeable with those

of others

- a national philosophy of

life,

with a difference.

In

fact

he

33

claims to find a (somewhat) trite moral base to build on,
humour,

fair

and

courage

particularly phllosphical.

at

least

various

apart

of

but

life,

regional

is

So far,
not;

this

problems about

nothing

does

however

not

local

as

research

Identifying and

trouble derives from the extravagant claim that

with

Goodness

these
and

-

distinctive,

all

or

there

exclude

programs).

legitimating

being

So
a

far,

national

But shortly Anderson is plunged into inconsistency: the

philosophy, so good.

do

at

there could a national philosophy,

then,

(such

philosophies

from rational

but

dealing',

'traditions ... of

the

Beauty

-

then

of

values

eternal

and

only

Philosophy' (p.295 with rearrangement).

the

then

'if Australia has nothing to

Spirit,

has

she

the

Ideals

nothing

to

of

Truth,

with

do

But, as Australia has nothing per se

to do with these - as is virtually conceded,

these values involving a

'wider

sweep' than any national boundaries ~ "she" has nothing to do with Philosophy,

contradicting

the

possibility

of

a

National

Philosophy.

Though

the

contradiction is easily avoided by rescinding the extravagant claim, the ideal

of a National Philosophy should be allowed

to rest in peace: nationalism has

had its time.

Richard Routley^

Research School of Social Sciences

Australian National University

or

With thanks to R. Elliot, W. Godfrey-Smith, S. Grave and L. Mirlin, to
several members of the audience at the presentation of the paper at the 1983
Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference, University of Adelaide, to
several referees for this Journal, and, not least, to the present Editor.

..A
PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA

Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk

intellectual

other

dominated, indeed
Europe,

swamped,

largely

by

Northern

now increasingly from North America.

a

such

populations,

have to stay that way.

like

higher cultural activity in Australasia, has long been

and

influences,

composition

of

result was virtually inevitable.

Suitable

policies,

from

initially

Given the migration patterns, the

cultural and other baggage imported, the ethnic

ruling

philosophy,

a

good

philosophy

the

resulting

But it does not

policy,

could

change things.

The thought of a regional philosophy, perhaps matching a regional

In 1923, a New Zealand correspondent to the newly-launched

is hardly a new one.

Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the

’a

new

kind

or

culture,

temper

philosophy

of

possibility

of

under these southern skies’ which the

Journal might foster.1 The Journal has however hardly fulfilled such a role (or,
for

that

matter,

actively

pursued

professional philosophers but a wider
things

some

have

changed

in

its pronounced aim of reaching not merely

Australasian

Australia,

community).

laying a solid foundation for a new

regionalism in philosophy, that possibility of a new temper

hardly

been

realised.

but

few

of

philosophy

had

There is little in the way of a new kind and temper of

philosophy under New Zealand skies, which the southern skies
include:

although

And

features,

distinctive

‘no

were

distinctively

characteristics, have shown up in New Zealand philosophy’2.

intended
New

Zealand

New Zealand remains

1.

AJPP, March 1923, p.74. The question was taken up by the Editor
same volume, p.292.ff; his discussion is considered below.

2.

S.A. Grave, A History pf Philosophy in Australia, Queensland
Press, 1983, p.l. Page references are to the manuscript.

1

to

in

the

University

v, •? 1 nSOphy

of

a substantial net importer

of

dominance

colonial

but also

philosophy,

inns been

,

philosophers.

and

used to prevail in Australia, where virtually all

that

chairs, and many other academic posts in philosophy, were
the

from

no established chairs are

where

most strikingly exhibited

at

the

of

orientation

Northern

New Zealand is not surprising.

in

academics

small

courses designed, topics covered and considered and especially

in

appointments made, the heavy
researched

Zealand,

New

by

filled

Given the usual power and influence of professors in

occupied by locals.

departments,

in

persists

North,

situation

The

oldest

of

philosophy

taught

and

(The Northern control is perhaps

Zealand

New

universities,

the

University of Otago, where the Philosophy Department has been virtually captured
by a British School and looks increasingly like an offshoot of the London School

q,
of

In

Economics.)

kC-f" Ct

event the overwhelming Anglo-American dominance of New

any

Zealand philosophy — also a feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian
philosophy

-

confirmed by a content survey of the courses offered and

be

can

research papers written at New Zealand universities.

to

Even when local people have been appointed

they

have

been

generally forged

requirements

brought

or

up

on

finished

the

North

as

B.Phil.

hard

well.

In

particular,

the

to

beat

case

of

philosophy

by

the

Many departments of philosophy remain full of products

degree.

of this cultural mill:
were

Australasia,

of the Australasian universities in the major period of post-World

War II expansion were conveniently seen to in the

Oxford

in

solid diet of Anglo-American material, and

a

in

positions

indeed until the mid 70s candidates finished

out

when

they

applied

for

positions,

in

such

Oxford

was

the

(unwarranted) prestige of Oxford and the continuing "cultural cringe".

Nonetheless, despite the Northern dominance, significant changes have

been

occurring in the Antipodes, especially on the Australian philosophical scene (as

will be indicated).

It is worth asking whether Australian philosophy is

2

moving

hiiosophy

towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than 100 years ago when the
Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought) together, and its

age

"golden

American philosophy was never quite the same again, and became its

began.

own thing.

There are

Australian

philosophy

now

new

operating

forces

in such a direction.

which

help

could

to

move

There is the widespread emergence,

particularly in alternative culture, of a new (bio-)regionalism^, which
to cultural and ideological choice along with other local choices;

applies

and in stark

contrast, there is the centralised fashioning of national science and technology
which not only provides a model for reflection in regional philosophy

policies,

but

policy

also

directly

bears

on

parts

of

the

of

philosophy

science.

Unfortunately there are also some serious obstacles to regional philosophies and

to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

USA, long an importer of culture from Europe, has

of

certainly

of

lower

components of higher culture such

as

philosophy

exporter

philosophical

culture,

output

from

Oxford

has

culture,

taken).

recently
but

evidently

(witness

Are

become

net

also

any

of

turn

American

the

there

a

reasons why

Australasia, if not following suit, should not achieve a better cultural balance
of

payments,

especially

Yes, there are reasons.

in philosophy?

In the first

place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and perhaps

part

derived

from,

vast

in

changes

economic^power relations.

dominance entails cultural dominance, there
Australasia’s

is

little

prospect

in

If economic

for

most

of

culture, since there is no serious prospect that Australasia will

ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least not without

nuclear

3.

See B. Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy;
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977, Parts 2 and 3.

4.

See especially, Fourth World News, vol.
1,
1983, and
Scale, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1980.

3

K.

Sale,

Human

-uilosopM but

also

has long '’een

destruction of the North, and disruption of

cultural

entire

flow

of

commodities,

Secondly, as observed, Antipodean universities not only

other).

and

the

contain a large component of Northern academics, increasingly of Americans, they

also

include

a

substantial

additional contingent of fellow-travellers, whose

research and teaching is bent to Northern concerns.

influential
jL

segment,

4A4X

y

e

unlikely

that

this

(become so locally

will

group,

former

the

It is

Gy I

acclimatised as to) give up its Northern^cultural commitments,
isolated

person.

Nor

apart

the

from

As long as Antipodeans do not drastically

should they.

alter their cultural priorities, they are in a bind situation;

for

it

can

be

persuasively argued that they would be better off, as far as quality and product
goes,

stocking

their

universities

with

American

teaching

components

and

researching American-oriented concerns.

One simple numerical argument that Antipodean universities would be
off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:graduates

Australasian

of

and

American, are

A

distinguished, at least in subjects such as philosophy.

academics

of quality

produced

per

number

of

say there is 1 per every n graduates.

graduates;

The (higher degree)

significantly

not

culturally

Consider now the number

higher

degree

Austroamerican

The (great) preponderance of

graduates will be Americans, just by virtue of their vastly

and

better

their more extensive system of university education.

greater

population

So also then, just by

ratio considerations, the great preponderance of quality academics drawn from an

Austroamerican

base will be American, as will the upper percentiles among those

quality products.

be

5.

appointing

Clearly, Antipodeans, were they interested in quality,

more Americans to their universities.

would

Such an argument does not

As indicated in Appendix 1, the ratio of philosophy graduates with
doctorates is in the order of 30 to 1 for USA as compared with Australia.
And, ; > is well-known, the extent of university education is much greater
in USA than in Australasia: indeed Australia is in this respect the worst
educated of the developed nations, as OECD figures have made plain (see,
e.g., B. Jones, Sleepers Awake, Penguin, 1982, p.
).

Co***)

fa

/o

.. w. also folk

work to show that, for similar reasons, American universities should be full
or

Chinese

Indian

professors,

two reasons;

for

cultural differences between Asians and
as philosophy;

such

of

first there are significant

especially

Americans,

disciplines

in

and secondly, their university systems do not deliver such

great quotas of higher degree or high quality graduates, at least in philosophy.

The conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a

popular

one.

The

anti Americanism felt in portions of the Australasian community extends into the

and recently there has been increasing insistence, especially

universities;
the

aging

now

younger

Turks that university positions should be reserved for

This at the same time as these Turks often preach of

locals.

community

of

scholars,

by

presumably^/ then

an

international

"free" interchange, etc.

They

cannot have it ail ways.

So long as there is a free—flow interchange of

will

centre

dominate

the

ideas

personnel,

and

periphery culturally as well as economically;

will have more than us, and jobs here should go by and large to them

if

the

they
it

is

quality in this high cultural business that we seek, as we mostly claim.

Now it is widely enough recognised, lower-down hierarchical ladders anyway,
that there is something drastically wrong with these sorts of arguments.

are not flooded with high-quality Northerners
local

contenders

who

better.

retain

have

appointment

the

messages

of

out

the centre better than locals do, and

higher—echelon

(often

Northern

committees than dusty locals whose shortcomings are known

As is beginning to be recognised too,
their

drive

rather we are inundated by Americans with inflated

remote Northern fields tend to look greener to
biassed)

regularly

for positions, if we only preferred the Northerners when they

were quite visibly superior:

references,

would

who

For we

higher-quality

products,

periphery only if they somehow fall foul

5

and

of

Northern

the

allow

the

them

system

centres

to
(e.s5.

tend

to

be exiled to the
the

academic

philosophy»

folk

w also
•

it

All this makes the position look doubly bad. /Wejought,

appointing

especially

Northerners,

Americans,

yet

And

doing

so

to

seems,

to

order

maximize

does not achieve the desired quality result, and

J?

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

Cx-z'J2-^

Fortunately there is a way out from this awkward situation and these

arguments;

and

that

the

is

us.

the

Then

shaky

shaky

way of regionalism. (^We) do our own things;

obtain sufficient cultural distance,
for

be

if they are overrated in

even

their references, and usually not out of the top drawer, in

quality.

/■jxc*</-C-vuaxt

so that they are not

numerical

argument

simply

does fall down.

and

sul^itutable

But before we

elaborate the emerging proposal there are other influential arguments to dispose
of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

There is, to begin with, the argument for

have

so

far

been

conceded:
all more or

institutions
maximize.
most

of

crave

and

seek

excellence,

elements

of

which

that there is an objective commodity, quality or

less__agree
and

what

about,

which

appointments

is

what

academic

to capture, indeed

aim

That at least is the type of myth most of us have

encountered;

ow know it is a myth, in fact a dangerous myth.

Host places don’t

even try to make appointments that way, any more that organisations aim just
maximize

profit,

but

rather

seek

some

Ability

to

fit

sort of program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more

important factor;

6.

to

to satisfice on a mix of factors, of which

assessed qualityjis only one, and not the highest ranking one.

into

and

and there is no good reason why such

a

program

should

not

This is easier in the cultural than the technological sphere.
However it
is also possible technologically:
(stronger) theses of technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.

sometimes be a regionally oriented one.

So

like

Mii 1 OSOphy *

1

prevailing

given

the

practices,

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

The deeper-cutting objection is that there

the

with

that

objective importancej

criticism

as

excellence,

objective

of

idea

notions

these

notions

objective

of

is

something

and

with

the

are

open

to

values

more

seriously

connected notion of
the

same

sorts

generally,

that

they have

viewpoint

rather

narrow

to

which

these

intellectual

of

the framework

bracketed out the contextual—relativisation component of valuing:
or

amiss

relate.? While those operating within a

values

paradigm,

as

such

ordinary

Oxbridge

language

philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint, since it is
objective

incorporated in the operational paradigm, and so arrive at

seemingly

quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.

in truth value) when

transposed
Consider,

to

frameworks,

other

e.g.

idealistic

or

for comparison, the judgements as to the quality or worth of a forest

made variously by a deep ecologist, an industrial forester, and

officer.

viewpoints.

Marxist

Compare

environmental

judgements

as

by

philosopher,

Califorman—environmentalist

to

the

quality

There

recreational

of a holistically-inclined
Marxist

language,

ordinary

philosophers.

a

are

philosophers who

even

pretend that such environmental work cannot be judged, seemingly because
not

done

by

institutions.

members

of

such

is

■F

the

importance

of

work

quality

done

or

importance of problems and issues is highly paradigm
problems

it

of the main philosophical peer group at Harvard and like

As this begins to reveal, judgements of

judgements

and

as

those

are

not

problems

independent
tackled.

dependent.

For

of

But the

example,

of quantifying-in and of possible worlds and of de re

What follows also begins to bring out what is om^Qitted in a main
R.S.
Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance,
197 .
--

theme

of

thought which assume immense importance
within

mainstream

the

for

referential

fashionable

theories

paradigm, vanish to relative insignificance

empiricist

outside that restricted viewpoint.

Now observe that most judgements as to

what

are the important problems and what constitutes important work - matters helping
determine quality - are shipped

relative

to

their

down

from

placement,

paradigmatic

the

Their

North.

and

the

importance

is

paradigms concerned are

exported to the Antipodes through the main channels already indicated.

We

are

free to reject these paradigms and select alternatives, and there are, it can be
argued, good reasons to do just that, much as there are good reasons

different

energy

technology

different

(or

military

technology)

choose

to

that

from

generally favoured in the North which the North is eager to export southwards.

Similar points apply against the cosmopolitan/international argument
might

which

alternatively be called the Peter Stuyvesant international argument, that

sophisticated people everywhere smoke this superior
-marketed from Holland;

product

mass-produced

cigarette-sophistication is cosmopolitan.

and

The argument

is based on the assumption that philosophy is a ’cosmopolitan subject’, that

is

is not the sort of enterprise for which place and people are significant as they
are for poetry or the novel.8 The assumption has only
questioned.

to

be

production also.

like

a

process

of

But in the process of production the place and people involved
And if the product is like a work

in discussion) are material.

of

art,

a piece of literature, and not just theorems and arguments assembled in an

internationally-approved format,

Q

then again

the

historical

setting

since philosophy, no more than literature, does not emerge in a vacuum.

8.

be

It takes for granted, for one important thing, that philosophy is a

finished product of a certain sort (a propositional theory), not

(e.g.

to

presented

matters,

Plato's

Grave, op.cit, p.2:
the term ’cosmopolitan subject’ is said to come from
Donegan.
As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
further C.
Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi,
Amsterdam, 1982.

8

philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if

cribbed

in

mid

20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.111

It is important not to be sidetracked into issues - resembling problems

aesthetics

-

that do not need to be contested, such as whether and what extent

sets of themes and arguments produced in one place and setting could

produced

in

in

another.

have

been

A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be adopted in

Europe but apparently will not be, whereas there is reasonable prospect that New

Zealand,

in

contrast with Australia, will pursue a nonnuclear energy strategy.

It is the doing* and not what could
logic,

which

be

substantial cultural resistance):
to be done in the Anglo-American

their

done,

that

matters

Dialethic

here.

invalidates the technique and methodology of much philosophy done

in the North, could perhaps

choose

be

own

distinctive thing.

distinctive

done

in

the

North

(though

there

would

be

it is not being done there, and is not likely

sphere.11

To

this

extent,

Antipodeans

can

technology and logical techniques, do their own

The international/cosmopolitan argument, stated

in

a

form

that would be telling, fails.

9.

Like a paper Ln the biological sciences.
But here again technique
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

10.

Related points can be made concerning modern American work. Consider, for
instance such texts as W.V. Quine's Word and Object, (Wiley, New York,
1960) or R. Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia (Basic Books, New York,
1974).
The assumptions taken for granted, the arguments involved, etc.,
are especially American: it is not just the style. The acceptability of
arguments and positions is dependent on place and received paradigm.

11.

Much as communist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
communities in Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
the extreme individualism of that culture.

9

and

tUK KLUJLUNAL

Hi JLLUbUrdltb

IN AUblKALAbLA

Of course it can be argued, it is being argued, that Antipodeans don’t need
to

be,

or

even oughtn’t to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies and
But meeting these considerations takes us to

apparatus.

concerning

issues

merit

the

of

a

we

shall

return,

our

own

cuisine

cooking is adequate:

that we don't

or wine styles.

arguments,

The new

need

to

be

or

oughtn’t

to

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

we should stick to that and buy it off the shelf from

ideally importing the cooks also.

North,

of

are not a lot more convincing however than comparable

arguments concerning cooking:
devising

set

policies and programs, the point of

various

diversity, etc.— far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.

which

new

whole

the

Do we have good reasons to think that

British philosophy is better, these days, than British cooking? 12

Antipodeans are free in principle, then, to
and

to

pursue

their

own

paradigms;

do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their

own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who

to be re-educated, from elsewhere, in particular from the North.

(had)

have

But will their

intellectual paradigms tie with cultural paradigms, with distinctive features of
the

local

7

culture.

In

a loose way, at least, they may link, though works of

philosophy will not usually tie in with the culture in the integral fashion that
novels

(as

distinct

from more technical works) sometimes do.

Grave considers

two cultural features, not restricted to particular philosophical programs, that
help

mark

philosophy

in

Australia

as ’an Australian product’ - ’unimportant

though this is compared with what matters in philosophy’ he hastens to add.

But

style, acceptability, truth, do matter, and are not independent - or independent

mofar as their perception goes in the case of truth and

12.

correctness13

-

from

One correspondent (name supplied) suggested I ’might note the stultifying
crap produced by R.S.
Peters Inc.
and marketed as philosophy of
education’. Certainly, as Grave’s discussion (op.cit.
p.318) reveals,
Peters’
influence in this area has been very substantial: this indicates
another field for local initiative.

saco-s. -fo (K

t* th-

STS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA

underlying broad theory or received paradigm.

However the marks Grave cautiously advances do not serve to distinguish the
Australian

product,

being

features

philosophy exhibits in lesser

Australian

degree than the more adventurous and polemical philosophy

antiquity.

Greek

first, described by Passmore as ’most typical of Australian philosophy’, is

The

a ’diversity of approach and readiness

unfashionable

point

of

view’,

put

to

forward

much

something

more

an

unconventional

typical

or

classical

of

The second, and more surprising, mark is the manifestoed characte^

philosophy.

of

of

Australian philosophy, 'the most notable example ...

between Wittgensteinian Melbourne and Andersonian Sydney,

philosophy

Andersonian

itself'

(p.2).

This

example

being ...

if

is

it

the line-up
was

not

the

far from isolated:

others among them concern the fervour generated by "Australian materialism", the
extraordinary

discussed

by

political
Grave),

engagement

and

the

by

some

growing

philosophy
confrontation

departments
concerning

(both
the

relevant/paraconsistent program, with the local ("adversarial") style leading to

sharp criticism by Americans.
Grave

The third and especially the fourth marks are, as

notes, hardly distinguishing marks, namely the contrast of the Australian

reputation in philosophy with that in other subjects and

the

anti-intellectual

national stereotype, and the separation of the academic philosophy from the sort
of mostly-imported philosophy of interest in literary and arty-crafty circles.

13.

Nothing need be conceded to strong cultural relativity themes, though they
would support the case. It is enough that our theories remain radically
incomplete and that there can accordingly be rival theories as to what is
true. Similarly, however philosophy is conceived, as the search for truth,
explanation, understanding (all of these really), or as inquiry of a
certain sort, there can be - will be - competing accounts.

11

— ruK REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALAQi A

The failure of the marks to adequately separate off

Australian

from the particular local examples) does not matter.

(apart

Australian produce is sufficiently separated

another,

by

projects.

For

regionalism should not be confused with nationalism, nor more regional

positions such as Sydneyside materialism or Wellington

Nationalism

philosophies.

in

philosophy,

undesirable trait, not to be encouraged:
cultural

other

For one thing, the

research

its

philosophy

as

in

modalism

most

with

national

things, is an

other

and the new regionalism is linked,

in

with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state

things,

power. 14

To get back to where we were:

-

better much increase - doing our own distinctive things, and that we team

or

In fact there are several suggestions that begin to

up to do so.
just

the emerging proposal is this, thatQ^e/start

emerge;

not

that we do our own selection, decide our own priorities, instead of having

these foisted upon us;
invented

instead

here
of

competitive

or

taken

Gridiron

model

in favour of a

not just, that is, that we play our own

and

over

from

Basketball,

games,

whether

the North and not theirs, Rules and Rugby

but

that

we

abandon

the

individual

of cultural achievement sold to us and fostered by the North

group

cooperative

approach

(elements

of

which

are

already

modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

14.

See, e.g., Sale, op.cit., and L.
London, 1957.

Kohr,

The

Breakdown

of

Nations,

RKP,

The Editor of the new 1923 AJPP did however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of an Australian Philosophy; some of the issues there
raised (p.292ff) are addressed in Appendix 2.

12

p_FOR regional PHILOSOPHIES in AUSTRAtacta

The thoughts here are

example:

ditch-digging

more

ditch

rapidly

the

On

than

enjoyably

and

two

people

On the other side, experience

cannot

individually

achievements in their programs.
situation.

communi ation

working

complete

very

shows

depends

results

builds

on

Despite

the

For, despite, the individualism
the

work

of

in

obtaining

we

that

highly

myth

rapid

publication

of

competitive

predominantly

much in the attainment

work

is

jointly

based,

Then again communications

the

idea

or

the

are

tend

to

lose

There are nationalistic considerations (e.g.

fact

achieves

There is the fact that much is

conveyed verbally and through face-to-face seminars so that local

is

and

result, and the

Here again people at the periphery

a result at about the same time as an outsider).

There

the

when the time is ripe for some idea or result,

many:

There are a mix of reasons:-

conveyed.

in

One is the

Poles tend to promote Polish results, Russians will cite a Russian who

be

ditch

rapid verbal communication and access to unpublished

upon

assignment of credit for it.
out.

the

There are several reasons for this.

several clever people will be able to hit on it.
important

on

successfully with the centre on

individualistic nature of American academic enterprise,15

material.

the

is

it is well-known that two people cooperating can dig a

enjoyment in the doing.

of

side

one

Cooperative work tends to pay off in terms of output, quality, and

separately.

periphery

familiar.

and

simple

results

will

of limited reading, and that people at the

centre tend to concentrate when they read on material from the centre by central
people, so that published items and results from the periphery will often not be

noticed, and may well lose out to

15.

central

competitors

even

if

they

achieve

Reflecting other features of the culture and enterprise of the centre which
are not so deeply embedded in Australasia:
see further R. Routley,
’Culture, philosophy, and approaches to the natural environment - an
Australian
perspective’,
and
’Culture and the roots of political
divergence:
the Australian/American contrast’,
typescripts, Canberra,
1983; both referred to subsequently as ’Culture’.

13

^2^Sl2IWL_PHILOSOPHTro T.

central publication.

There is also the fact that people at the centre

to

merit for merit, more publication and communication opportunities than

receive,

Here economic factors such as

people towards the periphery.

market

tend

(there

are,

a

e.g.,

many

great

size

of

academic

more academic philosophers in North

America than in the whole rest of the world), control of publishing outlets

etc.

journals,

(with few exceptions all Northern), do begin to enter.

economic power does not, and need not, determine culture -^we)can shut
philosophical

Northern

we

sets if

propaganda

want

really

to.

in

we

And

and

However

off

the

much the way we shut off our television
can

stop

being

impressed

by

those

philosophical middle-men who make a living by importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do?

We adapt to the cultural-philosophical level, several of

things, that have been suggested in the new (bio-)regionalism.

those

some regional awakening and local self-management.

We

do

not

We aim at
slavish

remain

importers and imitators of, and local commentators on and peddlars of, doctrines
and positions from the North.

to

trying

tease

out

For example, we don’t spend

our

academic

what Wittgenstein or Dummett16 or Quine meant by this or

that in the hope that some pale Northern light will perhaps filter through.
be

lives

To

I am not suggesting that we emulate the appalling ignorance of people

sure,

from the North who visit the Antipodes and know little or nothing about what has

been

done

or is being done here;

so that we have eminent visitors, their bags

heavy with cultural accroutrements, trekking

University

(now

the

main

for

centre

through

investigation

the

Australian

of relevant logics) and

informing us that, or relying crucially on the assumption that, a

entails

16.

every proposition.

National

contradiction

One reason that these Northerners often know little

Nor do we really need C. Martin (an American, formerly professor at Sydney
University, now at Calgary) coming by to tell us there are severe
difficulties in making Dummett’s stuff work or even cohere (though it’s
nice to see him again).

14

^~^-^S2NAL PHiLosn

1

or nothing about distinctive positions and advances
prevailing

of

assumption

the

is

Antipodes

is

the

the inferiority of cultural and intellectual life in

these former southern colonies;

another is the narrow (predominantly local) and

limited reading undertaken by Northern luminaries.

But, despite having been given sufficient cause, we shouldn’t cut ourselves

off

We can reasonably use what we need from these

anyway).

so

from Northern paradigms and influences (we could hardly manage to

entirely

we

should

enterprises.

stay

informed

In any case,

but

of,

imitators

not

cultures

regional

continuing

are

in

just as the people are largely European stock.

traditions,

or part of, their

of,

rooted

older

minority)

and

traditions,

Northern

So far from cutting

loose from these traditions and starting afresh from nowhere, these

likely

traditions:

older

(and

the local variations that have emerged, are

what we want to develop and perhaps mutate, as again with wine styles.

The proposal is
encourage

then

develop

and

paradigms, rather than

paradigms

we

that

do

increasingly

own

our

working

with

pale

nor-thorn

reflections

research

of

fortunately,

being

do

we

programs

already

grounded

in

need

to

features

make

New

Zealand

is

a

different

and

which

initiated,
of

the

to

pull

have

larger

For

the very great

culture.17

Nor,

more

Australia

difficult proposition - is already
All one really has to

do

out programs he has already indicated and provide some elaboration

and commentary.

17.

components.

Much of the story, for

indicated in Grave’s survey of Australian philosophy.

is

Northern

the story up - though helping to shape the

future is part of what the proposal is about.
-

of

It is not as if we have to build from nothing, to do - what is very

are

advantage

things,

own research programs, and so shape new Antipodean

our

difficult - entirely original work, to try to create cultural

there

local

To pull the investigation down to

See Culture, op.cit.

15

a

more

concrete

level,

I

PHTr

mo____

shall list some more prominent programs — not the only ones — and remark on some
features of them.

The longest running and best known program is, without much doubt, that

AusfcraATan

naturalism,

which is generally traced back to Anderson’s empiricist

and which aims to see the natural world, and everything else,

metaphysics,

encompassed

suitably

program

a

and Smart in Adelaide which has since died out there.

has included such famous components as the mental-material
theme

and

central

materialism,

state

derivatively, a version of functionalism.

failures

conspicuous

scientifically

relations

of

as

the frame work of the world of /physical scienc^f.

within

It contains as a major subprogram Sydney materialism,

Place

of

its

in

nowadays

and

Faced

like

plans,

reduction

The latter program
contingent

it

all
it

by

initiated

identity

in,

more

physicalisms

with

takes

incorporates

now

a

trimmed theory of universals, and an account of natural laws as

universals.

Parts

of

the

program, especially materialism and

central state reductionism and the unified science ideal, have had

counterparts

in the North, but the program has, for the most part, retained its distinctively
Australian character (it never caught on in

smoothly, moreover, into Australian culture.

New

Zealand).

The

program

It is similarly down—to—earth, and

earthy, so far as philosophy can be, without the fancy ideas or effete

of

idealism

European philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanism with which

much of North American thinking simmers (including nowadays,

yet

fits

pragmatism).

And

it does not shrink from explicit metaphysical commitments, and though it is

basically

empiricist,

it

is

positivistic

not

(rejecting

a

verification

principle, in particular).

18.

Anderson’s metaphysics was far more opposed to reductions than what has
succeeded it.
For an account of Anderson’s philosophy, and a history and
account of Australian naturalism and materialism, see especially Grave,
op.cit.

16

It is a city, primarily «G4t-y o£ Sydney, based program, but the program does
extend

outside

universities a bit (a tiny bit) to the larger metropolitan

the

As in North America, so in Australasia, little professional philosophy

impinges

on

broader community1920
, or even on the wider academic community

the

work by Russell, Popper and Kuhn being exceptional.
Australasia

would

be

an

quite

Perth,

and

has

outliers

in

Apart from notable exceptions,

one

achievement,

naturalism program used to stretch through

to

elsewhere),

the

old

from

worth

it

the program has never had

there

now

for.)

reaches

in
The
to

(or

indeed

the

same

hold,

or

nor, surprisingly, has it had

much

external

criticism

from

confrontation of major city philosophies having died out.

more

religion

stricken

Melbourne philosophy, much more than Sydney, has been dominated by

a procession of Northern fashions:
more

working

around

Canberra, as well as a core of opposition there.

Melbourne philosophy is more historically oriented and

than Sydney;

this

turn

Adelaide;

more than a rather precarious hold, in Melbourne:
heavyweight criticism

(To

recently,

earlier idealism and Continental philosophy;

Wittgenstein, ordinary language philosophy;

turnabout, Quine, Davidson and extensional reduction;

then, a remarkable

now perhaps Lewis, Kripke

and Dummett?

19.

In Canada while most academics from other disciplines would know of, and
perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of Wittgenstein
(though he is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually none
would know of Quine. (Subjective sampling).
On the ’triumph of professionalism’ in philosophy in USA, see Kuklick,
op.cit., p.565ff.
Kuklick brings out well some of the more disastrous
features of professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that the
virtuous
features
resulting
from
some professionalisation can be
synthesized with broader philosophical activity.

20.

Ellis’s work, and more recently the work of F. Jackson and others (e.g in
value theory, H.
Munro), which can be accounted part of the broader
naturalist program.

17

*• I

culture.

The one program that reaches beyond the confines of the cities in Australia
-

is

which

a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land always

all

after

environmentalism,

being the other - is Australian

which

has

the Colleges of Advanced Education in the country

with

connections

towns and the communes on the North Coast.

So

far

distinguished by what it is not as what it is.

of

most

transformed

Europe

World,

to

untouched country left, and little sensitivity accordingly

those
the

and

built

approaches.

human-transformed

environment,

specifically,

issues

as

such

that

issues

admit

shallow

European superficiality continues to dominate much of the New

And

World environmentalism outside North America.
differs

much

as

The main environmental issues in Europe tend to concern

wilderness.

of

is

and having little wild

environment

natural

its

program

the

Serious and deeper environmental

positions are a feature of the New World, the Old

having

program,

diffuse

rather

a

significantly

North

environmentalism

American

however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

in the religious-spiritual

of

component

former,

the

in

but

other

several

respects as well (see further Culture).

Australian

More positively, there are three strands to

there

Firstly,

is

an extended utilitarianism, differing little from Bentham’s

enlarged position, which insists upon counting the

This

creatures.

environmentalism#*-

position,

developed

from

a

of

utilities
British

base,

prominently in animal welfare and animal liberation movements:

on

focussed

animals,

domestic

animals

used

in

as

engineering.

genetic

interested

in,

conversion

of

endangered

forests,

pain and pleasure.

spinoff

from

It

species,

is
the

not

of

figured
it

has

wild

generally

with, or much
the

lands,

etc., except insofar as these have a bearing on animal

Wider and deeper environmental concerns

animal

more

concerned

disappearance

sentient

and hunted (wild)

research

however

has

though

animals, it has also become entangled in issues of bio-research

such

all

welfare,

and

18

appear

only

as

a

so deeper concerns get an inadequate deal.

Secondly, there is a wider and
utilitarian

and

ecological

deeper

a

especially

wild

and

in

value

trees

is

is

not

forests

and

and

This position differs from

natural systems.

American spiritualism and from an extension of American
there

which

which recognises irreducible value elsewhere than sentience or

psychological states, which finds intrinsic
ecosystems,

position,

Thirdly,

naturalism.

of course, as almost everywhere, a reactionary component, critical of

the other strands, which insists that all that needs to be accomplished
environmental

front

be

can

achieved

within

older

established

on

the

ethical and

political frameworks.

Whereas materialism is based in

Canberra

and

Sydney,

environmentalism

Melbourne, but also includes Brisbane and Perth.

none

in

Sydney,

is

the

relevant/paraconsistent

materialism and environmental programs have

further

input

from

relevant/paraconsistent
affecting

epistemology
program

and

a

in

in

logic

metaphysics,
respectively,

program,

other major areas of philosophy, especially metaphysics.

which perhaps includes more centres in Australia than

any

Melbourne,

Whereas the

program.

theory

value

essentially

is

core

their

in

Also centred in

Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections
but

centred

is

other

but

with
the

one

The program

program,

and

which extends to New Zealand, has also been described elsewhere.*
22

21.

It has been described more fully elsewhere:
see,
in
particular,
Environmental Philosophy (ed. D. Mannison and others), RSSS, Australian
National University, 1980.

22.

Again, like all the Australian programs, both those mentionedand others,
in Grave,
op.cit.
But see
further, R. Routley, ’Research in Logic in
Australia,
New Zealand and
Oceania’, Research Papers in
Logic #14,
Australian
National University,
1983;
G.
Priest and R. Routley, On
Paraconsistency, Research Papers in Logic #13,
1983;
R.
Routley and
others, Relevant Logics and Their PJLvals, Ridgeview, California, 1983.

19

The main research program evident in New Zealand philosophy is also a logic

A

program.

grounded

program emanating from the work of Prior and now located

mainly in Wellington, it might be called the extended modal program.

of

the

on

program

The impact

is perhaps best seen in Cresswell’s Logics and

philosophy

Languages.

Australian philosophy used to be known, and still is in some quarters,
its

hard-headed

empiricism;

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly not

known for anything much, except perhaps, in UK, that Prior brought

adaption

of

philosophy

Russellian

work

the

of

present

type

that remote place.

from

impressions is particularly accurate;
of

for

is,

his

Neither of these

both are rather out-of-date.
of

course,

not

just

unusual

to

But the aim
correct these

impressions, not just to reflect or report on culture - for what one would

to

reflect

upon

is

not

sufficiently

there

-

like

but also to help manufacture

elements of a culture, to make an image.

To resist the North, we should increase our efforts to further the
flourishing

already

programs, and perhaps other sunrise projects, to build teaching and

research around the programs selected for promotion, elaboration, and criticism,

to

orient

appointments,

programs. 23
24 Why bother?
technology,

especially

of

involved

local

people,

off the shelf, from the North?

There is, firstly, the

inferiority

built-in

and

despite their attractive packaging.

23.

limited

range

of applications (e.g.

obsolence

25

of

Northern

Without putting too fine a point

for

a

they're hopeless in the vicinity of

Methuen, London, 1973.
See also work by Goldblatt and by
to in Research in Logic, op.cit.

20

our

There are several arguments for not

on it, many of the imported intellectual goods are shoddy, and only work
very

these

Why not simply buy our philosophy, like almost all

doing this, in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched.

products,

to

Hughes

referred

contradictions or dilemmas).

Much that

is

wrong

with

philosophy

Antipodean

undoubtedly derives from shoddy intellectual goods imported from the North.

Yet

buying this material is encouraged by hard-sell cultural

the

North,

who

are

often enough paid to visit.

from

ambassadors

This is part of the philosophical

imperialism from the North - the successor to Northern colonialism

that

-

the

Antipodes too willingfysuffers , or, more remarkable, encourages!

Secondly, there is the inappropriateness of much of the

especially

considered

as

a

package,

metaphysics, environmental concerns.
land

or

for

instance,

The European

North

to

Northern
cover,

has

no

as

product,
well as

satisfactory

environmental ethic fit for Antipodean circumstances, and the American

24. In fact something like the last has been the policy of the LSE. Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a long period was that
of Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically).
As observed, it
now loc s like the practice of the Otago Department also: and apparently
it used to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most places the practice^ is
condemned as nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for new
(Northern) blood".
It is at this stage, among others that administrative measures do matter;
for example, to ensure that suitable locally-engaged locals gain employment
rather than Northern stooges, in order to inject funds for on-going or new

programs, etc.

Among sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social alternatives, indigenous regiona
philosophies (especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian).
As
foreshadowed with the notion "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric, and
arguments, concerning science policy can be taken over to aPP-Y to >
policy, where X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.
25. Some of these arguments

change

support

centre also.

21

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

I

too

product is

spiritually-loaded

theory,

political

Australian

mainstream

for

culture.

26

In

work is much too individualistic, and the European

American

product, especially the Marxist form, unsuited

too

and

for

high-tech,

local

circumstances, especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

Thirdly, also telling against comparative advantage, are appealing features

of

and

markets

and

substitution

import

(including

removal

fashions,
the

Old

Boy’s

of

overseas

of the world’s

avoidance

namely,

regionalism;

control

and

structures

power

network in jobs, policies, etc.) and local control,

employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly, there are arguments for cultural diversity, applied to philosophy

as

part

of

intellectual

arguments from richness, complexity, sheer

culture:

into

diversity, stability, etc.26
27 In fact, the garden analogy built

notion

of

garden.

’culture’

transfers.

introduced.

We

obtain

not

only

but

good

whole

we want a rich, dense, productive

Naturally

But not only seeds and plants

the

and

weeds
products,

cultivars, but European pests and American weeds.

many

pests

are

being

maize and European

Indian

This is why selectiveness and

control are essential, as against previous haphazard procedures.

The proposal is not for, nor would the case

sustain,

a

narrow

localism.

The suggestion is for carefully selective penetration of intellectual areas.
with

technology

policy,

we

select

niches

which

are

not

occupied

As
or

satisfactorily filled, where we can make a difference, and use and develop local

skills and methods.

base

Indeed the policy has to be selective

(of philosophers, publishing outlets, etc.).

what extent should components, for instance people,

our

resource

But granting regionalism, to

books

26.

The point is elaborated in Culture.

27.

See, for instance, A.A.
Mazrui, A World Federation
African Perspective, Free Press, New York, 1976.

22

given

and

of

other

teaching

Cultures:

An

elements, theories and ideas, be imported and to

trained,

produced,

conceived

locally?

The

extent

what

possibility

different components means that many mixes are possible.

insist,

so

far

at

least,

on

they

be

of selectLveness in

There is

no

need

to

The case for the present is

a particular mix.

of

local

But it will do no harm to indicate elements of a mix that finds much

local

merely for a regional

shift,

autonomy and production.

Negatively,

favour.

for

significantly

a

undue

emphasis

is

suggestion

the

on

the

(also a Cambridge focus);
proper

conservative

that we try to get rid of the Oxford

That includes such things as removal of

quasi-historical

with

one.

generally

More

practice,

have

the

proposal

is

no

however

The heavy Oxford influence, in particular, has mostly been

many

been

that

a

very

of the main movements emanating from

but

also

the

Moore - later

very protective of the Northern status quo;

they tend to leave things very much as they

Positively,

approach

of reinforcement of the prevailing Anglo-American

England, especially ordinary language philosophy,
Wittgenstein

degree

British empiricism centred on Locke-Berkeley-Hume

of the

attention to sources;

status quo.

greater

28

style of teaching and doing philosophy.

the

should

are,

and

recommend

just

this.

29

we achieve further disassociation from the

Anglo-American empiricist past by widening the range of philosophical traditions

28.

Does it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should.
For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs,
is regional, not global:
this is supposed to shed great light on our
previously confused defence policies.

29.

The point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words and Things, Victor Collancz,
London,
1959.
But even ordinary language philosophy, though it much
contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations, had its
liberating elements, e.g.
removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.

drawn upon, to include not only
thought,

Eastern

neglected

in

parts

of

but also Pacific ethnic material and Australasian philosophy.

The idea is that such a plurality

assist

and

strands

continental

sources,

of

especially

in

will

teaching,

removing narrower cultural biasses and enable more discrimination to

Then too we should be better able to see the

be obtained.

ranges

theories

of

that are open to us in the Antipodes and how to advance our own programs.

APPENDIX

1.

Notes

investigation

of

on

the

philosophical

supply

situation.

Sociological

the philosophy labour market in Australia and New Zealand has

yet to be attempted.

of

But a picture

some

the

underlying

elements

simple

numerical argument of the text can be gained from the following table:

TABLE 1. Ph.Ds in Philosophy: a USA/Australian comparison

USA
Number (Male/Female)

1977

330 (264/66)

1978

283 (235/48)

1979

285 (204/54)

Australia
Number

9

1980

4

1981

4

Notes:

1.

New Zealand
Number

The breakdown of the USA numbers by sexes

is

(male/female)

given.

Similar figures do not appear to be available for Australia.
2.

The US figures are for the academic year ending in the

e.g.

1978

covers

the

Northern

Year

academic year 1977-78.

shown,

Southern

figures are for the calendar year shown.

In applying table 1 some simplifying assumptions are made.

candidates

for

appointment

to

regular

university

It is

positions

assumed
now

that

require a

9

find

trite

a

moral

fair dealing'), but nothing at all distinctive.
national

philosophy,

exclude there being

programs).

So

Australia

has

at

least

various

life,

of

regional

far, then, all is well.

the

inconsistency:

of humour, courage and

base to build on ('traditions ...

trouble

derives

but

So far, then, there

be

(such

as

local

research

But shortly the Editor is plunged into
from

the

extravagant

claim

that

Philosophy'

(p.295;

with rearrangement).

sweep'

than

any

national

boundaries

—

these
"she

values

is

a

Though

the

easily avoided by rescinding the extravagant claim, the ideal

of a National Philosophy should be allowed to rest in
had its time.

involving

has nothing to do with

Philosophy, contradicting the possibility of a National Philosophy.

contradiction

do

But, as Australia has nothing

per se to do with these - as is virtually conceded,

'wider

'if

nothing to do with these - the eternal values of the Spirit, the

Ideals of Truth, Goodness and Beauty - then and only then has she nothing to

with

a

this does not however

is not:

philosophies

can

peace:

nationalism

has

PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA
Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk philosophy, like

intellectual and higher cultural activity in Australasia, has long been

(Uhfi

swainped,

by

Northern

increayngly from North America.

Europe, now

inltutal

i!t

largely

indeed

dominated,

the

from

patterns,

of

composition

ethnic

resulting uU-HT; populations, such a result was virtually

does not

initially

the migration

Given

imported,

baggage

and/other

Influences,

the

But it

inevitable.

Suitable policies, a good philosophy policy,

have to stay that way.

could change things.

I he

of

thought

is

cultuie,

hardly a

regional

a

new one.

philosophy,

In

1923,

a

matching

perhaps

a

regional

correspondent to the

New Zealand

newly-1aunched Aust r a1asIan Journa1 of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the

possibility of 'a new kind or temper of philosophy under these southern skies’
which

the

11 o

*5

SIK

reaching

for

(or,

not

community).
soi id

might

Journal,

merely

foundation

that

for a

matter,

professional

although

And

The

foster.

some

Journal has

actively

pursued

philosophers

things

new regionalism

however hardly

but

have changed
in philosophy,

its
a

fulfilled

pronounced
wider

of

aim

Australasian

in Australia,

laying

a

that possibility of a

new Lemper of phiLosophy has hardly been realised. There is little in the way
of

a

new kind

and

temper of

philosophy

southern skies were intended to include:
distinctively

New

Zealand

skies, which

the

but few distinguishing features,

’no

under

characteristics,

New

have

Zealand

shown

up

in

New

Zealand

The question was taken up by the Editor in the
discussion is considered below, especially in

p/ces

1

pin losophy' .-

New Zealand remains a substantial net

The situation of colonial dominance that used to prevail in

and philosophers.
Aus 11.11. la,

wheie

virtually

all

chairs,

were filled by academics

philosophy,

Importer of philosophy,

and

many

from the North,

posts

academic

other

in

tends to persist in New

Zealand, where no established chairs are occupied by locals.\ Given the usual
power and Influence of professors

topics

coveted

considered

and

in small

and

in courses designed,

departments,

especially

appointments

made,

the

heavy

Northern orientation of philosophy taught and researched in New Zealand is not
The Northern control is perhaps most strikingly exhibited at the

surprising.
oldest

of

New

Zealand

Philosophy Department

event ,

the

the

University

of

has been substantially captured by a

like

increasingly

looks

universities,

an offshoot

of

overwhelming Anglo-American

the

Otago,

where

the

British School and

University of London.In any

dominance

of

New Zealand

philosophy

1 so <1 feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian philosophy — can

be confirmed

by a

content survey of the courses offered and research papers

written at Now Zealand universities.

Even when local

people have been appointed

to positions in Australasia,

they have been brought up on a solid diet of Anglo-American material, and they

have often been reforged or finished in the North as well.

In particular, the

S.A. Grave, A History of Philosophy in Australia, Queensland University
Piess,
1)84, p.l. Page references are to the manuscript.
The paper draws/
heavily on this history.
/
/

was correct at the t^me
of presentation of
J ' J/ '
v/i th the recent loss of^Xiair at Wellington, the
qualification, but the pattern of domination persists.

the pager

(August
claimrequires

*ln the 1981 Commonwealth University Handbook listing, 6 of the 8 members of
the Department held their main degree, Ph.D., from London, and one of the
remainder from Exeter.
Only one member of the Department, soon to retire,
falls outside the nexus.

of

requirements

the major

period

post­

of

li expansion were conveniently seen to in the case of philosophy by

World War

the

in

the Australasian universities

B.Phil,

Oxford

products of

Many

degree.

fill's cultural mill:

in Oxford were hard
(unwarranted)

departments of

indeed until

philosophy

full

remain

of

the mid 70s candidates finished

to beat out when they applied for positions, such was the

prestige of Oxford and

the regrettable,

but still

continuing,

"cultural cringe".

Nonetheless,

been

occurring

scene

(as

in

Northern

it

indicated).

significant

dominance,

especially on

the Antipodes,

be

will

the

despite

the Australian

worth

is

asking

changes

have

philosophical

Australian

whether

phiLosophy is moving towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than

100 years ago when the Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought)

together,

its "golden

and

age"

began.’

American

the same again, and became its own thing.

philosophy was never quite

There are now new forces operating

which could help to move Australian philosophy in such a direction.
the

widespread

regionalism/'

other

provides

a

which

applies

choices;

local

fashioning

emergence,

of

national

model

for

and

particularly
cultural

to

in

in

alternative

and

there are

of

choice

along

ideological

contrast,

there

and

technology

policies,

reflection

in

regional

also some

is

philosophy

directly bears on parts of the philosophy of science.

soon appear,

culture,

stark

science

serious obstacles

There is

the

a

new
with

centralised

which

not

only

policy

but

also

Unfortunately, as will

to regional

philosophies

and to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

See B. Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy; Cambridge, Massachusetts
1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977 , Parts 2 and 3.

On this bio-regionalism, see especially, Fourth World News, vol. 1,
and K. Sale, Hitman Scale, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1930.

1983,

1 other seek

b,1!

(Iu<i'!iy

fs

to satisfice on a mix of

factors, of which assessed

only one, and not often the highest ranking one.

Ability to fit

program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more

lnto

8ort

iiipo/iant

factor;

and

so H ! linGS bc a regionally

reason why such a program should not

is no good

there

So given prevailing practices,

oriented one.

the

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

in

my event,

there are enough local candidates of sufficient worth to proceed

>‘-giona]

w!I;i

And,

programs

without

sacrifice

clearcut

excellence.

of

Local

enterprise need entail no loss of excellence, and could well increase it.

btP'!

1 s"

v • 1 i!

■

1 b'J

objection is that

cutting

of

excellence,

objective

obJt( ■ *

importance;

that

criticism

is

of

notions

llL'J' ' ' 1 '".ll_ ff".l

these

there is something seriously amiss
and

notions

objective

values

with
open

are

more

contextual-re lativisation

a

rather

narrow

intellectual

the

to

generally,

of

component

paradigm,

notion

same

sorts

they

that

of

of
have

the

valuing:

While those operating

framework or viewpoint to which these values relate.10

within

connected

the

as

such

ordinary

Oxbridge

language philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint,
'1

's

incorporated

in

the

operat ional

paradigm,

and

so

arrive

at

set !! :s’’1 y objective quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.

m

truth

Marxist

value)

when

viewpoints.

transposed
ConsidcZ

to

for

other

frameworks,

comparison,

the

e.g.

idealistic

judgements

as

to

or

the

quality or worth of a forestWade variously by a deep ecologist, an industrial
forester, and a recreational officer.

Compare judgements as to the quality of

What fol lows also begins to bring out what is omitted in a main theme if
R.S. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cyc1e Maintenance, Bodley Head, Lond
1974.
Note that
efusing the notion of objective excellence does not lea^
subjectivism.
T
avoid the customary false dichotomy , compare the noti
validity (usuall
Ci1 led to themselves these days by classical logicians' with
that of quality^/.

9

a

ho 1 i s i /c a I 1 y-i nc I. i ned

Marxi st,

philosophers

it

group

As

because

the

of

problems such

'!lt »

is

importance

of

are

be

cannot

even

judged,

main philosophical

work

are not

of quality

peer

done

problems

or

independent of

But

tackled.

issues is highly paradigm dependent.

the

For example,

those of qu in t i f y i ng-i n and of poss l b Le worlds and of de re
importance for

immense

mainsti -am empiricist

restricted

that

ire

judgements

reveal,

to

which assume

the

language,

There

work

by members of the

not done

problems and

import nice of

whit

is

ordinary

philosophers.

environmental

such

that

by

like institutions.

begins

this

outside

it

Harvard and

judgements

witiiiii

pretend

who

philosopher,

environmental

Californian

and

seemi ng 1y

environmental

the important

fashionable referential

theories

paradigm, vanish to relative insignificance

Now observe

viewpoint.

that most

judgements as

to

problems and what constitutes importkj/t work - matters

tbechelping, determine quality - are shipped down from the North.
is relative

to

their paradigmatic placement, and

Their importance

the paradigms concerned are

exported to the Antipodes through the main channels already indicated.

fri'e to reject
be .argued,

choose

that

these paradigms and select alternatives,

good

reasons

different

generally

energy

favoured

to do

just

technology
in

the

that,

much as

(or different

North

the

which

We are

and there are, it can

there are
military
North

is

good reasons

technology)

eager

to

to

from

export

southwards.

against
which

might

alternatively

be

the

called

cosmopolitan/internalional

the

Peter

Stuyvesant

argument

international

r
argument ,

everrywhere smoke

that

mass-produced

and

-marketed

The argument

' cosmopol i t in subject',

pJL

Jo-Zj

cvnYy'

c.

Pi
^e/S3)r?'5"?.

is based

that is

a

from

i s not

Holland;

this superior

product..

cigarette-sophist lest ion

on the assumption that pM

the sort of enterprise for wht

f '/is

c^ra-

10

poetry

for
assumpt ion has only

important
sori

(a

to be presented

propositional

to be questioned.

that philosophy

thing,

theory),

not a

is a

1 i terature ,

and

work

not

just.

theorems

i nternati ona11y-approved format,12
’
philosophy,

since

no

more

than

It

and

The

takes for granted,

finished product of a certain

(e.g.

involved

the

if

And

novel.11

the

process of production also.

process of production the place and people

mater i a I

or

of

in discussion)

art ,

a rg urn e n t s

But in the

like

a

piece

assembled

in

are
of
an

then again the historical setting ma t ters ,
literature,

does

not

emerge

in

a

vacuum.

Plato's philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if cribbed
in mid 20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.

fmpoi taut not

1

in aesthet ics extent

sets

ol

adopted

in

prospect

themes

nonnucleai

Europe

that

do not

that

been produced

New

to be sidetracked
need

and arguments

in another.

but

to

be contested,

produced

.

such as

whether and what

in one place and setting could

A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be

apparently will

Zealand,

into issues — resembling problems

in

not

contrast

It is J

be,
with

whereas

there

Australia,

is

will

reasonable

pursue

a

>t what could be done, that

Eravi.’, op.cit., p.2:
the term 'cosmopolitan subject' used there comes
fioni Donegan.
As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
fin ! hi’i C. Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam,

bike i paper in the biological sciences.
But here again technique
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

and

13

■pies, e.g. concerning
modem American work.
Consider, for instance such texts as W.V. Quine's Word
_ (bi ley, New York, 1.960) or R. Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia
(Basic Books, New York, 1974).
The assumptions taken Tor granted, the
arguments involved, etc., are especially American: it is not just the style.
£9_c-ePta^j 1 i ty of arguments and positions is dependent on place and
r e c e 1 v ed par a d I gm .

11

.71 a L t < • r s

here .

Dialethic

much Anglo-American

methodology of

which

logic,

invalidates

philosophy, could

the

and

technique

perhaps be

done

in

the

North (though there1 would be substantial cultural resistance): it is not being

done

there,

this

extent,

and

is not

likely

Antipodeans

can

their

choose

the! r

own

international/cosmopo11 tan argument,

s tit ed

techniques,

Of course

do

it can

the Anglo-American sphere.To

to be done in

be argued,

o wn

distinctive

dis tine t ive

and

technology

The

thing.

in a form that would be telling,

it is being argued,

that Antipodeans don’t

need to be, or even oughtn't to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies

and apparatus.
of

But meeting

these considerations takes us

to a whole new set

issues concerning the merit of various policies and programs,

diversity, etc. - far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.
which we shall

return,

arguments concerning

are not a

cooking:

the. point of

The new arguments, to

lot more convincing however than comparable

that

we

don't,

devising our own cuisine or wine, styles.

need

to

be

or

oughtn't

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

cooking is adequate: we. should stick, to that and buy it off the shelf from the

North,

ideally importing

the cooks

also.

Do we

have good

reasons to

think

that British philosophy is better, these days, than British cooking?

Antipodeans are

free,

in principle

then,

to pursue their own paradigms;

and to do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their

own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who have (had)

14,
Much as communist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
communities in Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
tiie extreme possessive individualism of that culture.

On dialethic logic, see G. Priest and R. Routley, On Paraconsistency,
Research Papers In Logic, #13, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian
National University, 1983.

12

elsuJhere, in particular from the North.

parad igms
features

of

the

I oca 1

though works of

integral
do.

cultural paradigms, with distinctive

culture?

way,

philosophy will

to

not usually

programs,

unimportant

Independent

features,

not

But

or

at

least,

with

tie in

style,

I5

do

already

restricted

with

link,

they may

culture in

the

link.

the

truth,

far

considers

Grave

particular

philosophical

'an Australian

wha t matters

acceptabilit/,
so

to

Australia as

compared

is

independent

mJ correctness

they

philosophy in

this

though

add.

-

extent,

help mark

that

to

limited

a

cultural

certain

truth

tic

4

fashion that novels (as distinct from more technical works) sometimes

Indeed,

hastens

perused

But will the

do

product'

he

in philosophy’

and

matter,

are

not

percept ion

from under lyi/g broad theory or received paradigm.
CG'n £)Q_

However the marks Grave

U-y ut Ivin ecu/,

A

do

not

features

serve

to

the

distinguish

philosophy

Australian

Australian

exhibits

in

s i g n i f 1 c a n t though they are,

product,
lesser

the
degree

adventurous and polemical philosophy of Greek antiquity.
by

Passmore

as

'most

typical

of

Australian

first

two

than

the

being

more

The first, described

philosophy' ,

is

a

'diversity of

approach and readiness to put forward an unconventional or unfashionable point

of

v iew' ,' (>

philosophy,

something
wh ich

more

(with

typical
some

of

notable

ancient

philosophy

exceptions)

than

exhibits

Australian
an

austere

15

Nothing need be conceded to strong
cultural relativity themes, though they
would support the case.
It is enough that our theories remain radically
incom|> 1 e te and th.11 there
can accordingly be rival theories as to what is
true.
Similarly, however philosophy is conceived - as the search for truth,
explan it. ion, understanding and wisdom (all of these and more, really), or as,
more vaguely, inquiry of a certain soil - there can be, and will, be, competing
accounts; so a pluralistic theory is inevitable in giving a fuller view.

Both preceding quotations, while included as such in Grave's Introduction,
are It™ J. Passmore, 'Philosophy', in The Pattern of Australian Culture fed.
' " 'lcL«'0O, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1963 , pp.131-163.
The
same annotation also applies to the third mark.

13

uni1ormit y

re fI ec t i ng

more

and

that often at/rlbuted

sorprising ,

most

'the

philosophy,

WittgensteLnian

Andersonian

notable

Melbourne

philosophy

i s ^’the

mark

...

example

and

itself

manifestoed

character’

Andersonian

Sydney,

This

example

(p.2).

the

...

being

'The second,

itself.

Land

to the

is

line-up

it

if

Australian

of

the

not

was

far

between

isolated:

from

ited by "Australian materialism",

■

discussed

by

Grave),

relevant/pa raconsis tent
to

sharp

criticism

by

and

growing

the

program,

with

Americans.

philosophy departments

confrontation

(both

concerning

the local ('adversarial’) style leading

Connected

with

these

first

marks

two

furl her character 1st les of much Australian philosophy, as of much

unkindly

unwillingness

add

(in

the

mu file poi n t s ,

hope

of

locating

A

are

8th century

turi^-of- this-century Cambridge philosophy!
di rec tness ,

the

namely

surface clarity/and,

some would

difference),

bluntness,

genuine

unsubtlety and crudity.

third and the Jour th marks yklvnnci'^/

are very different-

~~

A

Anglo-American

philosophy;

namely

Australasia from, and its general

the

isolation

of

academic

philosophy

indifference or even hostility to,

in

the sort

tZ7

1 7

Though:for the most p<
that influenced by Sydney rather than that
originating 1 n^JJpl bourne.
"this
reflects the different historical
i nJ 1 u_e 11 c e s -rhrriT
Sydney and Melbourne philosophy.f-oj-’ a-h4 y
Scottish
dZTf-rrf- Contineryfal antecedents.
A 1 Cj? V A"

I

r

V

of

(e.g.

philosophy

imported

of

that

Nietzsche

and

the

existentialists)

8eneratlng Interest in literary and arts circlls.

rhe
philosophy

failure
does

of

not

such

marks

matter.

to

one

For

lts

Australian

!cts-

.nother,

Australian

is

produce

regionalism

>ot more regional positions such as

.

•lism «fth national philosophies.
ChlnJ, is an undesirable trait,

> as In

Na‘

the

thing,

r<

nationa11

out

separate

"Ot

in other cultural

» 'S^nked,

with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state power.18

*

*

:

............ merging proposal

loin
1,1

181,1

irch in
iiors-

°f

COP1CS

1

:

■

>d«.

ind

18t< 1 “t”>n UB

not

8

suggestions

lecide

, ,
Sale,

that

that begin

to

our

own

priorities,

that is, that we play our
th

North) and not theirs,

Gridiron and Basketball - but that we abandon the

individual competitive model of cultural achievement,

18Q<
aec > e.g.,
London, 1957.

we

that we do our own selection

just,
fr<

RU1<

that

> Pt bllcatlons and appointments, study

1
styl

this,

oir own distinctive things, and

11

1

is

op.cit.,

and

L. ?’011 r >

sold to us and fostered

Tlu>_ breakdown

of Nations ,

RKP ,

Ihe Editor of the new.1923 AJPP did
however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of (what must have
surprised some New Zealand readers) an
Australian Philosophy; some of the issui
s there raised (p.292ff) are addressed
in Appendix 2.

In favour of a group cooperative approach (elements of which are

by the .Iort.ii,

already modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

ihe thoughts here are simple and familiar.
digging example:

more

rapidly

On the one side is the ditch-

it is well-known that two people cooperating c.an

and enjoyably

than two

people working

Cooperalive work ten Is to pay off
output,

quality,

and enjoyment

the

in

doing.

on

dig a ditch

:he ditch

separately.

or el ewhere

in terms of

On the ot her side,

experience

shows that we in the periphery cannot individually cmip^el
ete very successfully
with the centre on achievements in

ior this.

the

attainment

nature of

results

of

depends

acce:;:i to unpublished material.

There are several reasons

Despite the highly competitive

Ono is the communication situation.

p r s ’ i omi nan tIy ind i vi iua 1is t ic
in

their programs.

American academic

upon

enterprise,^ much

verbal

rapid

communication

and

For, despite the individualism myth, work is

joint ly based, and builds on the work of many; when the time is ripe for some-

several clever people will

idea or result,

communications
result:,

an I

periphery

the

tend

na t i oiri 1 is t 1 c

are

to

Important

assignment
lose

out.

considerations

Russians will

obtaining

in

of

credit

Again
(e.g.

for

is

th e

facc~ I o- f ace scm 1 nars

so

that

fact

Poles

that

Local

rapid

Here

it.

much

results

tend

Then again

the

publication of

there is a mix

Russian who achieves a
The re

be able to hit on it.

to

again

result at

or

at

the

There

are

people

of reasons:-

promote

idea

Polish

results,

about the same time as

is conveyed verbally and
will be conveyed.

through

There is

the

IH'llecling other features oi Ihe culture and enterprise of the centre
which are not so deeply embedded in Australasia: see further R. Routley,
Culture,
philosophy,
and
approaches to
the natural
environment an
Austral I in
perspective',
in The
Environment,
Ethics
and
Ecology
(ed.
D. Bennett), The Faculties, Aust raIian National University, 1984, and also
Culture and
the roots of political divergence:
the Australian/American
contrast , typescript , Canberra, 1981;
both referred
to subsequently as
' Cu J ture ’ .

fact

Limited

of

when

1.11 e y

pub 1 i shed

may

reading,

read

on

and

that

material

from

L terns and results

we J I

I ose

out
There

publication.

receive,

to

merit

also

for merit,

the

from the

central

is

people at

more

by

to

tend

central

concentrate

so

people,

that

periphery wi 11, often not be noticed, and

fact

that

publication

towards the periphery.

thin people

centre

competitors

the

the centre

even

they

if

the

at

people

achieve

Here economic

tend

centre

communication

and

central
to

opportunities

factors do begin to enter;
ket (there are, e.g., a

grept many more academic philosophers in North America than in the whole rest
of the world), control of publishing outlets and journals (with few exceptions

all Northern),

etc.

culture - we can
shut off

way we

being

However economic power does not, and need not, determine

the Northern

shut off

our television

impressed

by

sets

if

philosophical

those

philosophical propaganda in much the
we really want

middle-men

to.

who

And we can stop

make

a

living

by

importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do? We adapt to
of

the cultural-philosophical level, several

those things, that have been suggested in the newer regionalism.

some

regional

importers

and

doctrines

and

awakening

and

self-reliance.

of,

and

local

from

the

North.

imitators
positions

local

We do

commentators
For

not remain

on

example,

We aim at

we

and

slavish

peddlars

of,

spend

our

don't

academic Lives trying to tease out what Davidson or Dumrnett or Kripke meant by

this

or

through.

that

To

in the

be

hope

sure,

I

that

am

some pale
not

Northern light

sugg esting

that

we

will perhaps

emulate

the

filter

appalling

ignorance of people from the No r t h who visit the Antipodes and know little or

nothing

about

what

has

been

done

or

Jis

being done

here;^ so

that we

Regrettably, the Ignorance extends to many locals.
In particular,
infected with Sydney materialism appear remarkably ill-informed as to
features oi other Australasian programs.

have

those
basic

17

vi: Hors,

Australian

the

through

investigation of

heavy

bags

their

cultural

with

University

National

the

(now

main

relevant logics) and Informing us that, or relying crucially

positions
'■ n

advances is

ind

! ioiity

colo!IJ(

often

Northerners

these

for

centre

One reason

on tnu assumption that, a contradiction entails every proposition.

that

trekking

accroutrements,

cultural

of

and

intellectual

narrow

nothing

or

is the

t.he Antipodes

the

is

another

little

know

about

distinctive

prevailing assumption of

life

these

in

(predominantly local)

and

former

the

southern

limited

reading

undertaken by Northern luminaries.

despite /having

But,

ourselves off
to anyway:

been

fro/ Northern paradigms and

az I
propaganda is different).

of, or

part of,

in

'

their enterprises.

c u t ’ *1 k ’

these

nowliere*

1 oose

1.r om

(and

older

shouldn’t

cut

Influences (we could hardly manage

We can reasonably use what we need from

In any case,

regional cultures are rooted
■

1

we

cause,

so we should stay informed of, but not imitators

continuing traditions:

tiics<

sufficient

given

these

likely

traditions

minority)

a nd

rgely European stock.

start! ng afresh

traditions,

and

the

from

local

variations that have already appeared are what we want to develop and perhaps

mutate, as again with wine styles.

1,111
things,

ol

L-K‘

Proposal

is

then

that

encourage and develop our own

Antlpodean

paradigmfl,

’•

rather
H

is

increasingly

research programs,

than working
not as

we

H ™

very Sreat

a

nt

own

local

and so shape newer

- to

bui Id from nothing,

to

of

do

to try to create cultural

programs ilready Initiated, which have the

of being grounded

2I .
’ See Cuiture, op.cit.

our

with pale northern reflections

“ entirely ori Inal work,
are res< lrcl

do

in features

of the larger culture.212

18

Nor,

do we need

fortunately,

-

Australia

part

1 j

u'■ o! c

New

Zealand

to do

*

more difficult

the story,

for

proposition -

is

All one really

To pull the investigation down to a more concrete

sketch some more

prominent cooperative

programs - by no means

on Ly programs - and remark on some rel evant features of them.

‘L?.

longest running and

PdJ 111

.... .IdJL

and

1 r sin ,

science.

(physical)

best known program is,
which

’ 1 >r

program

The

c'.ipi r i <-ist metaphysics,...

and

state

version

of

tr famed

as

materialism,

both

back

and

world,

and*
22

Faced
plans,

like

il

takes

it

initiated

in,

identity theme

more

physicalisms

all
now

Anderson's

It
in

The latter program has included

there.

nowadays

to

program

the mental-material contingent

’1reduction

theory of

uiiivcisals,

that

in Armstrong's work.
a

functionalism.

,n

natural

traced

subpro

components

central

generally

is

is now best exhibited

Adelaide which subsequently died out

famous

the

see

to

aims

without much doubt,

as suitably encompassed within the framework of the world of

e[se,

incorporates

a

derivatively,
with

and
a

conspicuous

"scientifically"

and an account of natural laws as relations of

universals,

components of

the developing

Sydney realism.

Parts of the

nd central state reduction^sm and

y matei

science ideal, have had counterparts in the North, but the program

t!!l

has,

Much of

about.

to bring out programs he has already indicated and provide some

is

I. shall

Jlie

such

is

different and

is a

elaboration and commentary.
level,

proposal

chough helping to shape

in Grave's survey of Australian philosophy.

already indicated
has

the

what

of

the story up -

to make

for

the

most

part,

retained

its

distinctively

Australian

character

22 >
An Arson's metaphysics was however far more opposed to reductions than
whal has succeeded it. For an account of Anderson's philosophy, and a history
and account
op.cit.

of

Australian naturalism

and materialism,

see especially Grave
r
y
,

19

respite export efforts, it never caught on in New Zealand.

It is similarly down-to-earth,

-

earthy,

and

so

far as

whlch

much

of

American

North

does

not

n

city

r

‘

from

>23

or

'

positivistic

the

University

would

be

quite

ropolitan culture.

of

the

,ider

turn
achievement,
h

one
to

through

1

notable

community,

icademic

■

an

exceptions,

the

As in

tonal philosophy impinges on

11

even on

8t

from

from

mainly

' t£ny hit) to t
ia,

Apart

not

is

it

universltles; but the program does extend outside

th

lstrala81a

metaphysical

explicit

in particular).

broadcast

program,

based

it ink

piricist,

(rejecting a verification principle,

’s

effete

nowadays,

(including

simmers

thinking

ba*

18

£t

!t

ideas or

fancy

the

without

philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanistn

111901 01 Eu 01
Wlth

be,

philosophy can

The program fits

program

worth

this

working

lelaide;

it

work by

around
for.)

now reaches

in

The
to

1 core of opposition there.

has never

had

the

same hold,

or

’or example, while most academics from other disciplines would
°f’ and perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of
iH;! - i'1 (though fie is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually
none would know of Quine.
(The sampling is subjective.)

kHOW

On the

hL'?-’

fairly recent

'triumph of professionalism'

in philosophy in USA, see

b--’65ff.
Kuklick brings out well some of the more
r/Hls ''^Oures ol professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that
7 1* 1
features
resulting
from
some
pro fess tonalisation
can
be
synthesized with broader philosophical activity.

20

more

i rather precarious hold,

than

in Melbourne: 4

nor, more surprisingly,

has it. had heavyweight criticism from there (or indeed much external criticism

from elsewhere),

the old confrontation of major city philosophies having died

Melbourne

out.

than

stricken

Continental

procession

a

then,

philosophy;

fashions:

recently,

remarkable

a

Northern

of

more

philosophy;

oriented

historically

and more

reLigion

philosophy, much more than Sydney,

Sydney; Melbourne

by

dominated

is more

philosophy

earlier

Wittgenstein,

Quine,

turnabout,

has

been

idealism

and

language

ordinary

and

Davidson

extensional

reduction; now perhaps Lewis, Kripke and Dumrnett?

one

The

program

beyond

reaches

that

confines

the

of

the

cities

in

Australia - which is after all a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land

always

the other

being

a

Australian environmentalism,

is

-

rather

diffuse

of Advanced Education in the
towns and

country

much distinguished

environmental

by what

positions

are

it

a

is

not

as

feature of

transformed

the New

most

specifically

having

little wild untouched country left, and
such as

issues

Europe

that

tend

admit

Ihii opt*.in

to

having

those

concern

shallow

the

wilderness.

built

approaches

superficiality

environmentalism

of

outside

(and

continues
North

and

it

what

Europe

to

So far the program is as

the communes on the North Coast.

is.

World,

its

of

natural

America.

deeper

Old World,

and

environment

and

environmental

human-trans formed

to

the

and

little sensitivity accordingly

The main

encourage

Serious

environment,

techno-fix

dominate
North

much

issues

situations).

of

American

the

New

in

Issues
And

World

environmentalism

differs significantly however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

' ‘ihe exceptions include Ellis's distinctive program, which can be accounted
part of the broader naturalist program, and at Monash the work of F. Jackson
and, earlier, of il. Munro in value theory.

21

in

the

religious-spiritual

component

of

the

former

but

several

in

other

respects as well (see further Culture).

More

there

positively,

are

an

is

there

enviton.nentallsmfirstly,

strands

three

Australian

to

utilitarianism,

extended

differing

1‘' in theory from Bentham's enlarged position, which insists upon counting
In

the utilities of all

Iris figured prominently In animal welfare and animal liberation

British base,

movements:

This position, developed from a

sentient creatures.

though

and

it

has

focussed

bio-research more generally such as genetic

engineering.

endangered species,

or much interested in,

concerned with,

animals used

in

it has also become entangled in issues of

animals,

researm and hunted (wild)

domestic animals,

on

It is not however

the disappearance

of wild lands, the conversion of forests, etc., except insofar as these have a

bearing on animal pain and pleasure.

Wider and deeper environmental concerns

appear only as a

spinoff from animal welfare, and so deeper concerns get an

inadequate deal.

Secondly, there is a wider and a deeper ecological position,

which is not utilitarian and which recognises irreducible value elsewhere than

sentience or

forests and

differs

ecosystems,
American

from

nature 1 Ism.

s t a t es ,

p s y c h o 1 og i c. a 1

as

Thirdly,

which finds

especially

there

is

reactionary component, critical of
needs

that

to

be

accomplished

natural

wild and

spiritualism

on

and

of

intrinsic value

from
course,

an
as

the other strands,

the

environmental

systems.

in

trees

This

position

of

American

extens ion

everywhere,

almost

and

a

which insists that all

front

can

be

achieved

within older estab I tshed (European) ethical and political frameworks.

Whereas

materialism

is

based

in

Sydney,

environmentalism

is centred

in

has
been described more
fully
elsewhere:
see,
in
particular,
cn La 1
Philosophy (ed.
D. Mannison and others),
RSSS,
Australian
National University, 1980.

It:

22

;llld Canberra, but also Includes

'11 ’*!) '111

Brisbane and

Perth. Also centred in

Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections Ln Melbourne,
!ew

b,lt

in

materialism and

epistemology

from

reLevant/paraconsistent

other

affecting

program

wh i ch

program,

a nd

programs have

environmental

input

perhaps
wh ich

is

program

areas

major

program.

relevant/paraconsistent

the

is

Sydney,

New

in

Zealand,

respectively,

the

program,

one

logic

especially

centres

more
to

extends

a

essentially

but

The

metaphysics.

Australia

than

also

been

has

with

in metaphysics,

theory

value

philosophy,

of

includes

and

their core

the

Whereas

any

other

described

,
26
elsewhere.

n 1 *n

! !H

logic

grounded

research program

program.

A

impact

of

the

in

New Zealand philosophy

program emanating

ton,
Inc

evident

program on

it might

from the

work of

is also

Prior and

a

now

be called the extended modal program.

philosophy is perhaps best seen in Cresswell’s

work.27

Australian philosophy used

for

its

hard-headed

known

fo1

empiricism;

to

be known,

is in some quarters,

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly

anything much, except

unu.-,u.i] adaption o!

and still

t

rh ps,

in UK,

that

Prior brought

Russellian philosophy from that remote place.

his

Neither of

...‘,ain, like al] the Australian programs, both those mentioned and others,
{_’rave> op.cit.
But
see
further,
R. Routley,
'Research in Logic in
KTU!,ral;a ’ NeW Ze
Jceania' , R search Papers in Logic #14, Australian
National University, 1983 (which also considers other programs in logic)*
G- Priest and R. Routley, op. cit.; and R. Routley, R.K. Meyer and others’,
-J- -£?C2JLL
s a nd
e i r Rivals, Ridgev lew, California , 1982.

2 7 c.
, „-,,,Se,e especially
N.J. Cresswell, Logics
and
, '
—o---.........
.. Languages, Methuen,
ucuuu^u, London,
iy/3; but see also
-1 — ----’ 1by Goldblatt
- .
.
■ and- -by Hughes
--------------------work
referred to in Research in
Logic, op.cit.
Also described there is <an original
,1....1 version of the modal
program (transparent intensional logic) elaborated by Tlchy at Otago.

2J

these impressions

is particularly accurate; both are rather out-of-date.

work of

l!::i
impress Lons,

the present type is, of course,

not just

to reflect

or report

not just

But

to correct these

on culture - for what one

would

like to reflect upon is not sufficiently there - but also to help manufacture
elements of a culture, to make an image.

io

resist

the

North,

we

should

Increase

our

efforts

to

further

the

sunrise projectsbuild

f e,lr ding .Jiid research
and criticism,

iround tin’ programs selected for promotion, elaboration,

to orient: appointments, especially of involved local people, to

28.
4
...nong sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested (not all
°* Ihiin feasible) are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social and
political.
alternatives,
peace
studies,
indigenous regional
philosophies
(especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian).
Another promising field,
witli practical
consequences, for local initiative is the philosophy of
education, where material produced by R.S. Peters has dominated the market,
with stultifying effects It is now alleged.
As foreshadowed with the notion of "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric,
cl nd a i gum on t, concerning science and technology policy (presented in the case
of Australia in Jones, op.cit.) can be taken over to apply to X policy, where
X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.

24

i
2 9,
these programs."
Why bother?

for not doing this,

there
Northern

in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched.

the

firstly,

is,

products,

point on

despite

vicinity

it, many of

Antipodean

of

the

imported

obsolence

of

most

Without putting

too

intellectual goods are shoddy,

and

packaging.

dilemmas).

or

undoubtedly

imported from Idle North.

built-in

range of applications (e.g.

contradictions

philosophy

and

inferiority

their attractive

only work for a very limited
tiie

simply buy our philosophy, like almost

technology, off the shelf, from the North? There are several, arguments

I oui

fine a

Why not

derives

from

they’re hopeless in

that

Much
shoddy

is

with

wrong

goods

intellectual

Yet buying this material is encouraged by hard-sell

cultural ambassadors from the North, who are often enough paid to visit.

This

In fact something like the last has been the policy of the LSE Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a long period was that of
Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically).
As observed, it now
looks like the practice of the Otago Department also; and apparently it used
to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most, places the practice is condemned as
nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for "new (Northern)
blood .
however there can be significant differences between nepotistic
appointments and those strengthening local programs.
Is ;,t this stage, among others that administrative measures do matter;
for example, to ensure that suitable locally-engaged locals gain employment
rather than Northern stooges, to direct funds into on-going local programs
rather thin Imported fashions, etc.
There are various ways appropriate
administrative details can be handled, locally or nationally; but nothing
draconian, such as wholesale exclusion of noncitizens, is required.
Observe, indeed, that no restriction of academic appointments to nationals
(in Canadian style) or the like is being advocated.
Anyone who arrives at a
conclusion of that sort from what has been argued has misunderstood the case
in
crucial
respects.
As
a matter of
simple
mathematics,
restricting
appointment fields characteristically reduces both quality of candidates
available (however quality is assessed) and range of possibilities open for
future research; and no such restrictions are advocated.
The author has
witnessed the debilitating effects of field restrictions at the Australian
National University and elsewhere.

30p
Borne of
centre also.

t hesi!

arguments

support

change

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

25

is

part

Northern

of

philosophical

the

-

colonialism

Imperialism

the

that

from the

too

Antipodes

the successor

North -

suffers,

willing

to

more-

or,

remarkable, encourages!

Secondly,

especially

there is the inappropriateness of much of the Northern product,

considered

as

metaphysics, environmental

for

package,

a

cover,

to

as

well

as

The European North has no satisfactory

concerns.

land or environmental ethic

instance,

fit for Antipodean circumstances,

the deeper

and

American pack ige is too spiritually-loaded for mainstream Australian culture.
31

In

political

is

work

the European product,

and

competition-based,
unsuited being

American

theory,

both too

precious and

much

individualistic

too

especially the Marxist

too high-tech

for

local

form,

and
is

circumstances,

especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

also

thirdly,

features

of

import

woi Id's markets

power

substitution

and

structures

against

telling

pressures

and

the

(including

and

comparative

advantage,

regionalism;

namely,

fashions,

Old Boy’s

removal, of

network in

are

appealing
of

the

overseas control

and

avoidance

jobs,

policies,

etc.),

and gaining of local control, employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly,

there

philosophy

as

complexity,

sheer

part

are
of

arguments

intellectual

diversity,

stability,

for

cultural

arguments

culture:

32
etc. “

diversity,

In

fact,

from

applied

to

richness,

the garden analogy

i’he point is elaborated in Culture.
At a more practical level Northern
products arc; again often unsuitable, though for different reasons.
For
example, the transfer of American agricultural methods and equipment to the
thin poor soils of the Antipodes has bad disastrous effects, at last beginning
to be recognised.

See, for instance, A.A. Mazrui, A World Federat ion of Cultures: An African
Per spec live, Free Press, New York, 1976.

Into the whole notion of 'culture’

built

dense,

garden.

productive

transfers.

Naturally we want a rich,

But not only seeds and

plants but weeds and many

being introduced.

pests are

We

obtain not only good

cultivars, but European pests

and European

and

selectiveness

are

control

products,

Indian maize

and American weeds.

This is why

as

essantLal,

against

haphazard

previous

procedures.

i'he proposal
with

local

Is not

whatever

products,

their quality,

replacing Northern ones.

heroes,

the case sustain,

nor would

for,

That

local

a narrow localisiiri^

fashions,

and

local.

cMl t

is certainly not the preferred wai of

the newer regionalism, which tends to do without fashions and heroes and leeks

impact, and so on;

low environmental

durable quality in products,

nor is the

way ol

technology policy.

Rather, as with technology policy, we select niches

which

are

or

not

occupied

filled,

satisfactorily

where

to

outlets,

be

selective

etc.).

given

our

base

resource

(of

can

make

a

Indeed the policy

difference, and use and develop local skills and methods.
has

we

philosophers,

publishing

to what extent should components,

But granting regionalism,

for instance people, books and other teaching elements, theories and ideas, be
imported

and

locally?

I’he

to

what

extent

should

they

be

particular mix.

There is no need

The case for

the present

trained,

conceived

in different components means that

possibility of selectiveness

many mixes are possible.

produced,

to insist,

so far at least, on a

is mainly for a regional shift, for

a significantly greater degree of local, autonomy and production

But

it

will

do

no

harm

to

indicate

elements of

a mix

that

finds much

Docs it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should. For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs, is
regional, not global: this is supposed to shed great light on our previously
confused defence policies.

27

local

the suggestion

Negatively,

favour.

is that we try to eradicate much of

the Oxford style of

Leaching and doing philosophy.

as

undue

removal

of

Berke1ey-Hume

with

the
(a

however

no

standard

emphasis

on

British

focus);

attention

proper

empiricism

British

to

of

of

sources;

movements

emanating

from

England,

they

are,

pi

the Northern status quo;

recommend

and

this.

just

1

approach

the

of

influence,

in

More generally, many of

especially

the

protective ol

ord

Locke-

on

reinforcement

heavy

particular, his mostly been a very conservative one.
main

centred

quasi-historical

the

us

the

Includes such things

That

-lice,

language

ordinary
have

been

very

to leave things very much as

they tend

Positively,

the

proposal

is

that

we

achieve further disassociation from the Anglo-American empiricist past in two

ways:

by

framework,

emphasizing

by

and

to

Eastern thought,

philosophy.

teaching, will
parochialism,

The

idea

assist

and

projects

diversifying

selectively drawn upon,
parts of

local

is

the

include not
but also
that

that

move

range

constricting

that

philosophical

of

traditions

only neglected Continental strands and

Pacific ethnic

such a

outside

material and

plural i ty of

sources,

Australasian

especially

in

in removing narrower cultural biasses, such as British

enable more

discrimination

to

be

obtained.

Then

too we

should be better able to see the ranges of theories that are open to us in the
Antipodes and how to advance our own programs.

36

I'he point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words and Things, Victor Gollancz,
London, 1959.
But even ordinary language? philosophy, though conservative, and
though it much contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations,
had its liberating elements, e.g. removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.
Nor lias the social impact changed much with the subsequent/ decline, since
1959, o 1 ordinary language philosophy, the Increasing insolvency of Oxbridge
philosophy, and its consequent limited take-over by right-wing Ivy League
American philosophy.
By contrast, the less economically influential growth of
redbrick and applied philosophy in some of the British r-fttl
and polytechnic
institutes his touched no more than the surface of Oxbridge Practice.

T

There remain some things we should want to see whatever mixes are chosen
in

iiiiereni Antipodean regions.

bias from papers and

publications, research seminars and lectures, letters of

reference, and so on.
the

works

and

irrespective

discussion

write

not

Northern

to

their

of

the

ignore

authors,

works

the

contribution
of

famous

more

authors,

local

their

lecture as

or

been

under

largely

again

etc.

It

and

to uncritically

the disposition

is

to

to

though work produced locally either does not exist or has

influential

philosophers,

importance,

worth,

topic

It is the disposition

the quality of their contribution.

opinions of

better,

the

the

to

authors from prestigious Northern institutions,

to

accept

of

quality

the

and

irrespective of

defer

This Northern bias is a disposition to cite and discuss

projects

of

One crucial issue is the removal of Northern

are,

(thus

if

ensuring

more

anything,

it

that

inclined

Northern

to

Australasian

And

not).

is

than

bias

many

overseas intellectuals, who are perhaps less concerned to be seen as belonging
to tl-'l Northern mainstream.

bias effects
policies of
ot

local

not

only

practice

the

of

individual,

philosophers,

but

the

selection and review committees as well as of editors and referees

journals.

reorientation,

with

It

developments ~

things

taught, more

so

they

that

philosophers
can

would

cite

be

other

among

involves,

Antipodean

it ions \ better,

courses

The reduction, and eventual removal, of Northern

getting

to

work

or

local

assisted

time spent at local

by

intellectual

things,
know

local

point

greater

out

local

work

and

regional

content

in

institutions on study leave, and so

on.

APPENDIX 1. Background notes on the philosophy supply situation.

Sociological

investigation of the philosophy labour market in Australia and New Zealand has
1° be
numerical

attempted.

But a

picture of

some elements underlying

the

argument of the text can be gained from the following table:

simple

29

TABLE 1. Ph.Ds In Philosophy: a USA ~ Australasian comparison

USA
Number (Male/Female)

Aust ra1i a

New Zealand

1974

413 (346/67)

6

0

19 75

375 (318/57)

5

0

1976

382 (319/63)

8

0

197 7

330 (264/66)

3

2 (1/1)

1978

2 83 (235/48)

5

5 (4/1)

1979

285 (204/54)

9

3 (2/1)

1980

2 4 6 (187/59)

4

N.A.

1981

N.A.

4

0

Notes:
1. The breakdown of the USA and New Zealand numbers by sexes (male/female) is
given.
SimiLar figures do not appear to be available for Australia.
2.
The US figures are for the academic year ending in the Year shown, e.g.
1978 covers the Northern academic year 1977-78. Southern figures are for the
calendar year shown.

Sources: Di gest__of__ Education Statistics, US National Center for
Education Statistics; University Statistics, Australian Bureau of
Census Statistics; New Zealand Education Statistics.

Comments:
1.
The contraction of US doctoral, production and the concomitant rise in
female representation, are clearly indicated.
The Australian figures are
likely too small to reflect such trends and responses to the academic market.
2.
Nome of Llr* Australasian numbers include Americans; likewise the American
figures provide no nationality breakdown.
3.
There is no information available on the number of Australians proceeding
to higher degrees in philosophy outside. Australia.
Tn applying table 1 some simplifying assumptions are made.

assumed

tbit

candidates

for appointment

to regular

For example, it is

university positions

now

would t.ave a doctorate or- the equivalent (until recently a B.Phll was taken as
a

near

well).

equivalent
It

is

of

a

assumed,

North
what

American
seems

to

Ph.D.
take

publications

the

case,

that

could

the

serve

as

number

of

30

Austi il is Lans proceeding to higher degrees in philosophy abroad is relatively

Smail, and no more than the order of Ph.Ds.
upsetting applications of table

without

say,

Is no compiled

I, that Australasian graduates match,

information on academic vacancies in philosophy in

Aust ra1 ia < r New Zealand

Az matter

to

I di j oil,1'.

on the lumbers of vacancies, on how the positions

It would however be a routine,

nationalities, sexes, etc.

by what

re1

It can be assumed,

Lhe upper half of American graduates in standard attained.

There

if

taken locally.

some of

assemble

data,

this

which

is

considerable

of

' incc to the planning of philosophy programs.

Un

considering

'the

Editor

In

a National Philosophy', the (Australian)
possibility
r*
, /r
<(
I
initial AJPP^ d istinguished two senses corresponding to 'the

the

of

of a National Phi 1osophy for Australia.

the earlier

APPENDIX 2.

I

G e rm an distinction

b etwee n

W e11 a n sc hauung

I

I

the first, that of 'a scheme of the universe',

ridiculous

as

con f i rm.a t ion

a
or

Christian

Sc ience .

fa 1 sificationV

Granted: but

'are

Lebensanchauung7

a nd

The

In

n Ihilos>phy
I hlLos
is as

is

argument

independent

that does not mean

(p.292).

that^Jirutly

national

of

that a

and

sympathies

its

or

theory may not be held,

in one region but not. others, as intuitionism was for long in
in

Holland,

or

'a

nation

second

a

in

France.

In

like

an

individual

may

'more

develop

ternperament a 1 attitude to the problems of existence, which we may
life.

is a mode of
form of

A nation's philosophy,

expression for

the national

(.'VO I V I up,

like

its art and

the national consciousness.

But,

a

and

certain

. . call its

Its 1i terature,

It is a specialised

short,

genius

intimate

part of the

by

no means

sepa ra t e from t he initial sense, a philosophy comprising no t merely a

fairly comprehensive

theory but also an integrated

set of attitudes (like an

..

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4

USA,

expoi ter

cul Lure,

of

certainly

of

higher

culture

philosophical

output

from

components

Australasia,

as

culture,

philosophy

has

Oxford

not

in philosophy?

but

also

evidently

(witness

the

Are

there

taken).

should

suit,

payments, especially

balance of

lower

of

such

following

not

if

has recently become a net

importer of culture from Europe,

m

Long

achieve

a

American

turn

reasons

why

cultural

better

there are reasons.

Yes,

of

In

the first place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and
perhaps

economic dominance
most

of

not only

increasingly

of

former

Northern

they.

prioi sties,
that

little prospect

for

there

the

contain

also

fellow-travellers,

whose

It is unlikely that

group,

(become

will

commitments,

as

Long

so

there

is

is

serious

no

prospect

in a bind

and disruption of the

Secondly,

component
Include

that

academics,

Northern

of

and

additional

is

teaching

this influential segment,

from

not

situation;

acclimatised

the

isolated

drastically

as

bent

to

especially

to)

give

person.

Nor

alter

entire

Antipodean

as observed,

a substantial

research

locally

apart

Antipoduans’ do

they are

I hey would be

North,

large

a

they

cultural
As

since

culture,

Americans,

Northern concerns.

the

If

cultural dominance,

cultural and other).

universities

of

in economic power relations.

ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least

commodities,

cont ingent

changes

nuclear destruction of

without

flow of

entails

Australasia's

Australasia will
not

from, vast

part derived

in

their

up

its

should

cultural

for it can be persuasively argued

better off, as far as quality and

product goes,

stocking

their universities with American teaching components and researching Americanoriented concerns.

One

simple

arg urn e n t

nurn er1c a I

th it

Antipodean

universities

would

be

better off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:- The (higher

degree)

graduates

of

Australasian

culturally distinguished,

at

and

American

are

not

significantly

least in subjects such as philosophy.

Consider

now

the

number

quality

of

academics

produced

number

per

of

higher

uates.

preponderance of

The (great)

just, by virtue of their vastly

graduates will be Americans,

greater population and

degree

their more extensive system of university education.'7

So also then, just by ratio considerations, the great preponderance of quality

academics

drawn

an

from

percentiles among

uppei

interested

they

universities.

in

those quality

quality,

Such

an

base

Austroamerlean

argument

does

appointing

not

as will

Clearly, Antipodeans,

products.

be

would

be American,

will

work

to

more

show

Americans
that,

for

the

were

their

to

similar

reasons, American universities should be full of Chinese or Indian professors,

for

two

Asians

reasons;

and

first

there

are

especially

Americans,

significant
in

cultural

disciplines

such

differences
as

between

philosophy;

and

secondly, their university systems do not deliver such great quotas of higher

degree or high quality graduates, at least

in philosophy.

fhe conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a popular one.

anti-Americanism felt
the

universities;

especially by

and

recently

the Australasian community extends into

there

has

been

increasing

insistence,

the now aging younger Turks that university positions should be

reserved for locals.
international

in portions of

The

This at the same time as these Turks often preach of an

community of scholars,

presumably then with "free"

interchange,

X'

indicated in Appendix 1, where assumptions made In the argument are
defended, the ratio of US philosophy graduates with doctorates as compared
with Australian exceeds 30 to 1.
And, as Is well-known, the extent of
university education is much greater in USA than in Australasia: indeed
Australia is in this respect among the ______
worst educated of the developed
nations, as OECD figures have made plain (see, e.g., B. Jones, Sleepers Wake!,
Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1.982, Chapter 7).

■

6

etc.

I'hey cannot have it all ways.''

So

as

long

the

cont inues,

present

centre

will

they wi! I

economically;

large to

the

it

them if

is

free-flow

Interchange

the

dominate

than us,

have more

jobs

(centrally-determined) quality

well

as

should

here

personnel

and

culturally

periphery

and

ideas

of

go by

as

and

in this high cultural

business that we seek, as mostly claim.

Now
anyway,

It

is

there

that

arguments.

widely

For

is

ire

we

regularly drive out

enough

recognised,

drastically

something

not

lower-down

flooded

wrong

with high-quality

local contenders for positions,

ladders

hierarchical
with

these

sorts

Northerners who

of

would

if we only preferred the

Northerners when they were quite visibly superior: rather we are inundated by
Americans with inflated references, who have the messages of the centre better

tbur

local;;

echelon
wnocf

do,

(often

and

remote Northern

Northern

shortcomings

biassed)

are known

the Northern centres tend

fields tend

appointment

better.

to look

committees

A.s is beginning

greener to
than

dusty

higherlocals

to be recognised

to retain their higher-quality products,

too,

and allow

A reverse flow of the better orthodox academics from Australasia to America
should also be expected (outside times of university contraction).
According
to issumptions of this brain drain argument, which is based on labour market
considerations,
appointment
and
lifestyle conditions
for academics
are
general ly better in USA than Australia and much better than those in
economicaLly-depressed New Zealand (e.g. higher salaries, better standard of
living, superior research conditions, etc.).
So, other things being equal,
able academics from the Antipodes will relocate in USA as academic positions
become available.
The argument also helps explain why Antipodean universities
cannot, expect, for the most part., t.o attract really top-drawer Northerners for
very long.

Of course, economically irrelevant factors do induce interference; e.g.
perverse commitments to odd-ball Antipodean intellectual enterprises which
reduce market acceptability, or pre-industrial ties to place or persons or
lifestyle which unduly restrict mobility (such as local roots,
family
attachments, even distaste for American urban lifestyles).

7

them

exiled

be

to

the

to

periphery

only

if

they

fali

somehow

the

foul of

Too

system (e.g. of the academic system for political or personal reasons) .

often

the

Nori hern

have

centres

disposed

their

of

inferior

intellectually

products In the periphery.

this makes the

All

appointing

especially Americans,

Northerners,

their references, and usually not out
And yet.

quality.

it seems,

position look doubly bad. We ought,

even

if

are overrated

they

of the top drawer,

to be

in

in order to maximize

doing so does not achieve the desired quality result,

and

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

there

fortunately

is

cultural

sufficient

obtain

lor us.

subtitutabIe
before

way

out

this

from

t is the wraj

'
and

a

We do our own

Lonal Lsm.

distance,'

so

and

situation

that

they

are

these

things;

not

simply

Then the shaky numerical argument does fall down.

elaborate

we

awkward

the

emerging

proposal

are

there

other

But

influential

arguments to dispose of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

There

have so

is,

to begin with,

far been conceded:

exce Hence,

which

the argument for excellence,

that

we all more or

there is an objective commodity, quality or
less agree

seek and what appointments aim to capture,
the type of myth most ol
myth,

In

fact

appointments

about,

which is proportionately

in the North, and which is what academic

more abundant

a

that

institutions crave and

indeed maximize.

That at least is

us have encountered; and many of us now know it is a

dangerous

way,

elements of which

any

Most

myth.

more

that

places

don't

organisations

aim

even
just

try
to

to

make

maximize

9- M
Iliis is easier in the cultural than the technological sphere.
However it
is
also
possible technologically:
(stronger)
theses of
technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.

->)
)

./

A- u

I
PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA

Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk philosophy, 1 ike
other intellectual and higher cultural activity in Australasia, has long been

dominated,

largely

swamped,

by

Northern

now increasingly from North America.

Europe,
the

indeed

and

cultural

resulting

baggage

other

controlling

such

But it does not have to stay that way.

a

initially

from

the migration patterns,

Given

the

ethnic

result

was

imported,

populations,

influences,

of

composition

virtually

the

inevitable.

Suitable policies, a good philosophy

policy, could change things.

The

culture,

thought
is

of

hardly a

a

philosophy,

regional

perhaps

In 1923, a New Zealand

new one.

a

matching

regional

correspondent to the

newly-launched Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the
possibility of ’a new kind or temper of philosophy under these southern skies’
which the Journal might

such a

role

reaching

(or,

not

community).

for

merely

And

The Journal

foster.1
matter,

that

professional

although

some

actively

pursued

philosophers

things

however hardly

has

but

have changed

solid foundation for a new regionalism in philosophy,

its
a

fulfilled

pronounced

wider

Australasian

in Australia,
that

of

aim

laying a

possibility of

a

new temper of philosophy has hardly been realised. There is little in the way

of a

new kind

and

temper of

philosophy under New Zealand

southern skies were intended to include:

distinctively

New

Zealand

AJPP, March 1923, p.74.
same volume, p.292ff; his
Appendix 2/

7

skies,

which

the

but few distinguishing features,

’no

characteristics,

have

shown

up

in

New

Zealand

The question was taken up by the Editor in the
discussion is considered below, especially in

2

philosophy’.

New Zealand remains a substantial net importer of philosophy,

The situation of colonial dominance that used to prevail in

and philosophers.
Australia,

where

virtually

all

chairs,

and

many

philosophy, were filled by academics from the North,

and

considered

and

Given the usual

in courses designed,

power and influence of professors in small departments,
covered

in

tends to persist in New

Zealand, where no established chairs are occupied by locals/

topics

posts

academic

other

especially appointments

made,

the

heavy

Northern orientation of philosophy taught and researched in New Zealand is not
surprising.

oldest

of

The Northern control is perhaps most strikingly exhibited at the
New

Zealand

the

universities,

University

of

Otago,

where

the

Philosophy Department has been substantially captured by a British School and

increasingly

looks

event,

like

an offshoot

of

the

University of London/

In any

the overwhelming Anglo-American dominance of New Zealand philosophy -

also a feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian philosophy - can
be confirmed by a content survey of the

courses offered

and research

papers

written at New Zealand universities.

Even when local people have been appointed to positions in Australasia,

2

S.A. Grave, A History of Philosophy in Australia, Queensland University
Press, 1984, p.l. Page references are to the manuscript.
The paper draws
heavily on this history.

3

This claim was correct at the time of presentation of the paper (August
1983).
With the recent loss of a chair at Wellington, the claim requires
qualification, but the pattern of domination persists.

4In the 1983 Commonwealth University Handbook listing, 6 of the 8 members of
the Department held their main degree, Ph.D., from London, and one of the
remainder from Exeter.
Only one member of the Department, soon to retire,
falls outside the nexus.

3

they have been brought up on a solid diet of Anglo-American material, and they

In particular, the

have often been reforged or finished in the North as well.

post-World

War

philosophy

by

remain

full

candidates

the

of

requirements

II

universities

in

were

conveniently

seen

expansion

Oxford

the

of

Australasian

of

products

finished

B.Phil.
this

Many

degree.
cultural

to

in

departments

out

period

the

of

of

case

of

philosophy

the mid

70s

when they applied

for

until

indeed

mill:

to beat

in Oxford were hard

major

the

positions, such was the (unwarranted) prestige of Oxford and the regrettable,
but still continuing, "cultural cringe".

Nonetheless,

(as

will

indicated).

be

dominance,

Northern

in the Antipodes,

been occurring

scene

the

despite

especially on

worth

is

It

significant

have

changes

the Australian philosophical

whether

asking

Australian

philosophy is moving towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than
100 years ago when the Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought)

together,

and its "golden age"

American philosophy was never quite

began.''

the same again, and became its own thing.

There are now new forces operating

which could help to move Australian philosophy in such a direction.
the

widespread

regionalism,6

other

5See B.

which

applies

choices;

local

fashioning

emergence,

of

national

and

particularly

to
in

science

cultural

in
and

alternative

culture,

ideological

stark

contrast,

and

technology

there

There is
of

a

choice along

is

policies,

the
which

new
with

centralised
not

only

Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy; Cambridge, Massachusetts

1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977, Parts 2 and 3.

6

On this bio-regionalism, see especially, Fourth World News, vol. I,
and K. Sale, Human Scale, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1980.

1983,

4

a

provides

for

model

reflection

philosophy

regional

in

directly bears on parts of the philosophy of science.
there are also some

soon appear,

policy

Unfortunately, as will

to regional

serious obstacles

also

but

philosophies

and to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

USA, long an importer of culture from Europe, has recently become a net

culture,

of

exporter

components

of higher

philosophical

Australasia,

from

output
if

not

Oxford

following

but

evidently

philosophy (witness

such as

culture

culture,

lower

of

certainly

taken).

has

should

suit,

not

balance of payments, especially in philosophy?

the American
there

Are

also

achieve

reasons

better

a

turn

why

cultural

there are reasons.

Yes,

of

In

the first place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and
perhaps in part derived from, vast changes in economic power relations.

economic

dominance

most

Australasia’s

of

entails

cultural dominance,

culture,

since

there

there is

is

little prospect

serious

no

prospect

If

for
that

Australasia will ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least

nuclear destruction of

not without

the North,

flow of commodities, cultural and other).
universities

not

only

increasingly

of

Americans,

contingent

of

former

Northern

they.

group,

cultural

As

priorities,

long

component

also

include

whose

research

they

disruption of

the entire

as observed, Antipodean

Secondly,

large

fellow-travellers,

Northern

academics,

substantial

additional

of

a

and

teaching

is

bent

to

It is unlikely that this influential segment, especially

Northern concerns.

the

a

contain

and

will

commitments,

as

so

(become

apart

Antipodeans

they are in a bind

locally acclimatised

do

from the
not

situation;

isolated

drastically

as

to)

person.

alter

give up

its

Nor should

their

cultural

for it can be persuasively argued

that they would be better off, as far as quality and

product goes,

stocking

5

universities

their

American

with

and

components

teaching

researching

American-oriented concerns.

that

argument

numerical

simple

One

Antipodean

universities

would

be

better off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:- The (higher

degree)

of

graduates

Australasian

culturally distinguished,
now the

number of

produced

0

population and

then,

So also

just

not

number

per

of

say there is 1 per every n graduates.

preponderance of graduates will be Americans,
greater

are

American

significantly

at least in subjects such as philosophy.

quality academics

Austroamerican graduates;

and

their more
by ratio

Consider

higher

degree

The (great)

just by virtue of their vastly

extensive system of university education.
considerations,

the great

preponderance

of

quality academics drawn from an Austroamerican base will be American, as will
the

upper

percentiles among

those quality products.

Clearly,

Antipodeans,

were they interested in quality, would be appointing more Americans to their

universities.

Such

an

argument

does

not

work

to

show

that,

for

similar

reasons, American universities should be full of Chinese or Indian professors,
for

two

Asians

reasons;

and

first

Americans,

there

are

especially

significant

in

cultural

disciplines

such

differences

as

between

philosophy;

and

secondly, their university systems do not deliver such great quotas of higher

degree or high quality graduates, at least in philosophy.

As indicated in Appendix 1, where assumptions made in the argument are
defended, the ratio of US philosophy graduates with doctorates as compared
with Australian exceeds 30 to 1.
And, as is well-known, the extent of
university education is much greater in USA than in Australasia: indeed
Australia is in this respect among the worst educated of the developed
nations, as OECD figures have made plain (see, e.g., B. Jones, Sleepers Wake’,
Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, Chapter 7).

/

6

The conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a popular one.

The

anti-Americanism felt in portions of the Australasian community extends

into

the

universities;

and

recently

has

there

been

insistence,

increasing

especially by the now aging younger Turks that university positions should be

This at the same time as these Turks often preach of an

reserved for locals.

international community of scholars, presumably then with "free" interchange,

etc.

They cannot have it all ways.^

So

long

as

the

continues,

economically;

the

present

centre

will

free-flow

dominate

they will have more

large to them if it

interchange

the

than us,

periphery
and

of

ideas

culturally

jobs here

is (centrally-determined) quality in

personnel

and
as

should

well

as

go by and

this high cultural

business that we seek, as mostly claim.

Now
anyway,

it

that

arguments.

is

widely

there
For we

is

enough

recognised

something

are not

lower-down

drastically

wrong

hierarchical

with

these

ladders
sorts

of

flooded with high-quality Northerners who would

g

A reverse flow of the better orthodox academics from Australasia to America
should also be expected (outside times of university contraction).
According
to assumptions of this brain drain argument, which is based on labour market
considerations, appointment
and lifestyle
conditions
for academics
are
generally better in USA than Australia and much better than those in
economically-depressed New Zealand (e.g. higher salaries, better standard of
living, superior research conditions, etc.).
So, other things being equal,
able academics from the Antipodes will relocate in USA as academic positions
become available. The argument also helps explain why Antipodean universities
cannot expect, for the most part, to attract really top-drawer Northerners for
very long.
Of course, economically irrelevant factors do induce interference; e.g.
perverse commitments to odd-ball Antipodean intellectual enterprises which
reduce market acceptability, or pre-industrial ties to place or persons or
lifestyle which unduly restrict mobility (such as local roots,
family
attachments, even distaste for American urban lifestyles).

7

regularly drive out local

contenders for positions,

if we only preferred the

Northerners when they were quite visibly superior: rather we are inundated by

Americans with inflated references, who have the messages of the centre better
do,

locals

than

higher-echelon

remote

and

Northern

(often

Northern
biassed)

fields

appointment

the Northern centres

greener

look

to

committees

than

dusty

retain their higher-quality products,

tend to

to

As is beginning to be recognised

locals whose shortcomings are known better.

too,

tend

and

allow them to be exiled to the periphery only if they somehow fall foul of the

system (e.g. of the academic system for political or personal reasons).

often

Northern

the

centres

have

disposed o

their

intellectually

Too

inferior

products in the periphery.

to

be

especially Americans, even if they are overrated

in

All this makes the position look doubly bad. We ought,
appointing Northerners,

it

seems,

their references, and usually not out of the top drawer, in order to maximize
And yet

quality.

doing so does not achieve the desired quality result, and

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

Fortunately
shaky arguments;
and

obtain

there

9

we

way out

from

this

sufficient

elaborate

cultural

distance,9

situation and

awkward

and that is the way of regionalism.

subtitutable for us.

before

is a

so

that

We do our own things;
they

are

Then the shaky numerical argument does fall
the

emerging

proposal

there

these

are

other

not

simply

down.

But

influential

This is easier in the cultural than the technological, sphere.
However it
is
also
possible technologically:
(stronger)
theses of
technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.

8

arguments to dispose of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

There is,

have so

to begin with,

far been conceded:

the argument for excellence,

that

elements of which

there is an objective commodity, quality or

excellence, which we all more or less agree about,

which is

proportionately

more abundant in the North, and which is what academic institutions crave and

indeed maximize.

seek and what appointments aim to capture,

That at least is

the type of myth most of us have encountered; and many of us now know it is a
myth,

in

fact

appointments

dangerous

a

that

any

way,

myth.

more

that

don’t

places

Most

organisations

aim

just

profit, but rather seek to satisfice on a mix of factors,

quality is

make

maximize

to

of which assessed

and not often the highest ranking one.

only one,

to

try

even

Ability to fit

into some sort of program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more
important factor;

and there

is no good reason why such a program should not

sometimes be a regionally oriented

one.

the

So given prevailing practices,

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

And,

in any event, there are enough local candidates of sufficient worth to proceed

with

regional

programs

without

clearcut

sacrifice

of

excellence.

Local

enterprise need entail no loss of excellence, and could well increase it.

The deeper-cutting objection is that there is something seriously amiss

with

the

idea

of

objective

objective

importance;

criticism

as

bracketed

out

notions

the

that

of

excellence,
these

objective

and

notions
values

with

are

open

more

contextual-relativisation

the

to

connected
the

generally,

component

of

same
that

notion

of

sorts

of

they

valuing:

have

the

9

framework or viewpoint to which these values relate.While those operating
within

rather

a

narrow

intellectual

paradigm,

as

such

ordinary

Oxbridge

language philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint,

since

incorporated

is

it

the

in

operational

paradigm,

and

arrive

so

at

seemingly objective quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.
in

truth

value)

when

Marxist

viewpoints.

quality

or

worth

for

Consider,

of

to

transposed

a

other

the

comparison,

made

forest,

frameworks,

variously

industrial forester, and a recreational officer.

quality

of

a

holistically-inclined

by

who

seemingly because

pretend

that

a

deep

the

ecologist,

philosopher,

environmental

it is not done by members

to

or

an

Compare judgements as to the

environmental

such

as

judgements

language, Marxist, and Californian environmental philosophers.

philosophers

idealistic

e.g.

of

work

by

ordinary

There are even
be

cannot

judged,

the main philosophical

peer

group at Harvard and like institutions.

As this

judgements

of

begins to
the

reveal,

importance

judgements of quality are not independent of
of

work

done

or

problems

tackled.

importance of problems and issues is highly paradigm dependent.

But

the

For example,

problems such as those of quantifying-in and of possible worlds and of de re

thought, which assume immense importance for fashionable referential theories
within the mainstream empiricist paradigm, vanish

outside

that

restricted viewpoint.

Now observe

to relative insignificance

that most

judgements as

to

What follows also begins to bring out what is omitted in a main theme of
R.S. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance, Bodley Head, London,
1974.
Note that defusing the notion of objective excellence does not lead to
subjectivism.
To avoid the customary false dichotomy, compare the notion of
validity (usually ceded to themselves these days by classical logicians) with
that of quality.

10

what are the Important problems and what constitutes important work - matters

helping

quality

determine

is

relative

to

their

are

exported

to

the Antipodes

importance
concerned

shipped

are

-

from

down

the

paradigmatic placement,
through

the

North.11

and

Their

paradigms

the

main channels

already

indicated.

We are free to reject these paradigms and select alternatives, and

there are,

it can be argued, good reasons to do just that, much as there are

good

reasons

choose

to

energy technology

different

(or different

military

technology) from that generally favoured in the North which the North is eager
to export southwards.

points

Similar

which

might

argument,

apply

against

alternatively

that

sophisticated

people

-marketed

mass-produced

and

cosmopolitan.

The argument

called

be

from

is based

cosmopolitan/international

the

the

Peter

everywhere

Holland;

international

Stuyvesant

smoke

this

argument

superior

product

cigarette-sophistication

is

on the assumption that philosophy is a

’cosmopolitan subject’, that is is not the sort of enterprise for which place
and

people

are

significant

as

they

are

for

or

poetry

assumption has only to be presented to be questioned.
for one important thing,

that philosophy is a

the

novel.12

It takes for granted,

finished product

sort (a propositional theory), not a process of production also.

110ften

enough

fashionability

is

mistaken

for

The

importance.

of a

certain

But in the

As

to

the

unsatisfactory way in which such '’important" problems are commonly set, see
F. Dyson, ’Unfashionable pursuits’, The Mathematical Intelligencer 5 (1983)
47-5?.
-----12

Grave, op.cit., p.2:
the term ’cosmopolitan subject’ used there comes
from Donegan. As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
further C. Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam,
1982.
----------------------------

11

process of production the place and people involved (e.g.

material.

And

literature,

the

if

and

not

product
just

is

theorems

more

no

philosophy,

than

work

a

and

of

art,

arguments

like

a

assembled

piece

of

in

an

then again the historical setting matters,

internationally-approved format,
since

like

in discussion) are

literature,

not

does

emerge

in

a

vacuum.

Plato’s philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if cribbed

in mid 20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.^

It is important not to be sidetracked into issues - resembling problems
in aesthetics - that

extent sets

do not need to be contested,

of themes and arguments

such as whether and what

produced in one place and setting could

have been produced in another. A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be
adopted

prospect

in

Europe but

that

New

apparently will

Zealand,

nonnuclear energy strategy.

matters

here.

Dial ethic

in

not

contrast

whereas

be,

with

there

Australia,

is

will

reasonable

pursue

a

It is the doing, and not what could be done, that

logic,

which

invalidates

methodology of much Anglo-American philosophy,

could

the

technique

perhaps be done in

and

the

North (though there would be substantial cultural resistance): it is not being

13

Like a paper in the biological sciences.
But here again technique and
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

Related points can be made using less extreme examples, e.g. concerning
modern American work.
Consider, for instance such texts as W.V. Quine’s Word
and Object, (Wiley, New York, 1960) or R. Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia
(Basic Books, New York, 1974).
The assumptions taken for granted, the
arguments involved, etc., are especially American: it is not just the style.
The acceptability of arguments and positions is dependent on place and
received paradigm.

12

and is not likely to be done in the Anglo-American sphere.to

done there,

this

extent,

logical

Antipodeans

techniques,

can

do

choose

their

their

own

international/cosmopolitan argument,

own

distinctive

distinctive

technology

thing.

stated tn a form that would be

and
The

telling,

fails.

Of course

it can be argued,

it is being argued,

that Antipodeans don’t

need to be, or even oughtn’t to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies
and apparatus.

But meeting these considerations takes us to a whole new set

of issues concerning the merit of various policies and programs,

diversity, etc. - far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.

the point of

The new arguments, to

which we shall return, are not a lot more convincing however than comparable
arguments

concerning

cooking:

that

we don’t

devising our own cuisine or wine styles.

need

to

be or

oughtn’t

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

cooking is adequate: we should stick to that and buy it off the shelf from the
North,

ideally

importing the

cooks also.

Do we have good reasons

to

think

that British philosophy is better, these days, than British cooking?

Antipodeans are free,

in principle then,

to pursue their own paradigms;

and to do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their

own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who have (had)

Much as communist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
communities in Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
the extreme possessive individualism of that culture.

On dialethic logic, see G. Priest and R. Routley, On Paraconsistency,
Research Papers in Logic, #13, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian
National University, 1983.

13

to be re-educated, from elsewhere, in particular from the North.

But will the

intellectual paradigms pursued tie with cultural paradigms, with distinctive
features

of

local

the

culture?

In a

loose way,

at

they may

least,

tie in with the

though works of philosophy will not usually

link,

culture in

the

integral fashion that novels (as distinct from more technical works) sometimes
do.

Indeed,

certain

to

a

cultural

limited

extent,

features,

not

they

restricted

to

particular

programs, that help mark philosophy in Australia as

’unimportant

hastens

to

though
add.

this

But

is

style,

compared

Grave considers

do already link.

with

acceptability,

what

’an Australian product’ -

matters

truth,

philosophical

he

philosophy’

in

do matter,

and

are

not

independent - or independent so far as their perception goes in the case of

truth and correctness16 - from underlying broad theory or received paradigm.

However the marks which can be extracted from Grave,

significant though

they are, do not serve to distinguish the Australian product,

the first

two

being features Australian philosophy exhibits in lesser degree than the more

adventurous and polemical philosophy of Greek antiquity.
by Passmore

as

’most

typical

of Australian philosophy’,

The first, described

is

a

’diversity of

approach and readiness to put forward an unconventional or unfashionable point

16

Nothing need be conceded to strong cultural relativity themes, though they
would support the case.
It is enough that our theories remain radically
incomplete and that there can accordingly be rival theories as to what is
true.
Similarly, however philosophy is conceived - as the search for truth,
explanation, understanding and wisdom (all of these and more, really), or as,
more vaguely, inquiry of a certain sort - there can be, and will be, competing
accounts; so a pluralistic theory is inevitable in giving a fuller view.

14

of

view*,

17

philosophy,

something
which

more

typical

some

(with

of

exceptions)

notable

exhibits

an

Canada,

is that

Africa,

South

adventurous

compared with other recent

and

provincial

and

diverse.

second,

The

...

the

between

line-up

Australian

and

surprising,

mark

far

from isolated:

others

Melbourne

Wittgensteinian

"Australian

materialism",

philosophy

departments

the

(both

confrontation concerning the

among

them concern

extraordinary
discussed

the

political

by

is

is
’the

’the most notable example ...

Andersonian

and

Sydney, if it was not the Andersonian philosophy itself’ (p.2).
is

such as

philosophy

England,

manifestoed character* of Australian philosophy,

being

"Oxbridge colonies",

more

austere

What may be

uniformity reflecting that often attributed to the land itself.
nearer true

Australian

than

philosophy

ancient

This example

fervour generated
engagement

Grave),

the

and

relevant/paraconsistent program,

by

by

some

growing

with the

local

(’adversarial*) style leading to sharp criticism by Americans. Connected with
these

first

philosophy,

century

two

marks

J as of much

Cambridge

further

are

characteristics

of

much

18th century Scottish philosophy and

philosophy:

points, surface clarity, and,

namely

directness,

Australian

turn-of-this-

unwillingness

to

muffle

some would unkindly add (in the hope perhaps of

locating a genuine difference), bluntness, unsubtlety and crudity.

Both preceding quotations, while included as such in Grave’s Introduction,
are from J. Passmore, ’Philosophy’, in The Pattern of Australian Culture (ed.
A.L. McLeod), Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1963, pp.131-168.
The
same annotation also applies to the third mark.

18

Though again for the most part that influenced by Sydney rather than that
originating in Melbourne.
To some extent this reflects the different
historical influences shaping Sydney and Melbourne philosophy:
roughly,
Scottish as opposed to Continental antecedents.

15

The

third

and

the

fourth

marks are

but

very different,

again

hardly

distinguishing features of Australian philosophy as Grave, who wouldn’t
them marks at all, in effect observes.

areas,

intellectual

the

of

Australian

the anti-intellectual national stereotype of Australians as a people
to

physical

mark

is

achievement

especially
of

isolation

a

academic

rather

than

feature

of

philosophy

indifference or even hostility to,

in

reputation

’center of philosophical inquiry’, with

indeed of Australia as a

philosophy,

The third, which applies well to other

contrast

the

is

call

to

intellectual

Anglo-American

Australasia

in

subtlety’.

the

namely

general

its

and

fourth

The

philosophy;

from,

’devoted

the sort of imported philosophy (e.g.

that

of Nietzsche and the existentialists) generating interest in literary and arts

circles.

The failure of such marks to entirely separate out Australian philosophy

does

not

matter.

For

thing,

one

the

separated by its research projects.

confused

with

nationalism,

nor

Australian

For another,

produce

such as

materialism or Wellington modalism with national philosophies.

philosophy,

as

encouraged;

and

in

most

the new

other

is

things,

regionalism

is

an

undesirable

commonly

sufficiently

regionalism should not

regional positions

more

is

linked,

be

Sydneyside

Nationalism in

trait,

not

in other

to

be

cultural

things, with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state power.

19

See, e.g.,
London, 1957.

Sale,

op.cit.,

and L.

Kohr,

The Breakdown of Nations,

RKP,

The Editor of the new 1923 AJPP did however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of (what must have surprised some New Zealand readers) an
Australian Philosophy; some of the issues there raised (p.292ff) are addressed
in Appendix 2.

1

16

*

To get

back to where we were:

*

emerging proposal

the

is

this,

that we

s.rsrt - or better much increase - doing our own distinctive things, and that
we

team up

to do so.

Tn fact

there are

several suggestions

that begin to

emerge, concerning research and teaching, publications and appointments, study
leave and sponsored visitors. These are not just that we do our own selection

of

topics

and

style

and

people,

and

methods,

decide

priorities,

own

our

instead of having these foisted upon us - not just, that is, that we play our
own games (whether invented here or taken over from the North) and not theirs,
Rules and Rugby instead of Gridiron and Basketball - but that we abandon the

individual competitive model of cultural achievement, sold to us and fostered
by the North, in favour of a group cooperative approach (elements of which are

already modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

The

ditch-digging example:

ditch

more

separately.

rapidly

simple

and

familiar.

On

the

one

side

is

the

it is well-known that two people cooperating can dig a

and

enjoyably

than

two

people

working

on

the

ditch

Cooperative work tends to pay off - in philosophy or elsewhere -

in terms of output,
experience

are

here

thoughts

shows

that we

successfully with
several reasons

quality, and enjoyment in the doing.
in the

the centre

for this.

periphery cannot

on achievements

One

highly competitive predominantly

On the other side,

individually compete very

in their programs.

is the communication situation.

There

are

Despite the

individualistic nature of American academic

1.

<3

enterprise,

20
' much

communication

in the

and

individualism myth,

attainment

of

results

access

to

work is

jointly based,

unpublished

upon rapid

depends

material.

For,

verbal

despite

the

and builds on the work of many;

when the time is ripe for some idea or result,

several clever people will be

Then again communications are important in obtaining rapid

able to hit on it.

publication of the idea or result, and the assignment of credit for it.
again people at the periphery tend to lose out.

Again

there

are

nationalistic

considerations

There are a mix of reasons

(e.g.

Polish results, Russians will cite a Russian who

the

same

verbally
conveyed.

tend

time

and

as

an outsider).

through

face-to-face

There

is

seminars

Here

the

so

Poles

achieves a
fact
that

that
local

tend

to

promote

result at

much

is

results

about

conveyed
will

be

There is the fact of limited reading, and that people at the centre

to concentrate when

they read

on material

from the centre by

central

people, so that published items and results from the periphery will often not

be noticed, and may well lose out to central

central publication.

receive,

merit

competitors even if they achieve

There is also the fact that people at the centre tend to

for merit,

more publication

than people towards the periphery.

and

communication

opportunities

Here economic factors do begin to enter;

consider the size and distribution of the academic market (there are, e.g., a
great many more academic philosophers in North America than in the whole rest

of the world), control of publishing outlets and journals (with few exceptions

20

Reflecting other features of the culture and enterprise of the centre
which are not so deeply embedded in Australasia: see further R. Routley,
’Culture,
philosophy, and
approaches to
the natural
environment - an
Australian perspective’,
in The Environment,
Ethics
and Ecology
(ed.
D. Bennett), The Faculties,^ Australian National University, 1984, and also
’Culture and the roots of political divergence)^ the Australian/American
contrast’, typescript, Canberra, 1983;
both referred to subsequently as
’Culture’.
. . //
/ -

18

However economic power does not, and need not, determine

etc.

all Northern),

culture - we can shut off the Northern philosophical propaganda
shut off

way we
being

sets if we really want to.

our television

by

impressed

middle-men

philosophical

those

the

And we can stop

a

make

who

in much

living

by

importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do? We adapt to the cultural-philosophical level,

We aim at

of those things, that have been suggested in the newer regionalism.
some

awakening and

regional

importers

and

doctrines

and

imitators

local

of,

positions

from

and

We do not remain slavish

self-reliance.

on

commentators

local

the North.

For

several

example,

peddlars

and

don’t

we

spend

of,
our

academic lives trying to tease out what Davidson or Dummett or Kripke meant by

this

in the hope that

or that

To

through.

be

sure,

I

some pale Northern light will

am not

suggesting

we

that

perhaps

emulate

filter

appalling

the

ignorance of people from the North who visit the Antipodes and know little or
nothing about what has been done or

is

eminent

with

through

visitors,

the

their

Australian

bags

heavy

National

being done here;

cultural

University

(now

so

that we have

accroutrements,
the

main

trekking

centre

for

investigation of relevant logics) and informing us that, or relying crucially
on the assumption that, a contradiction entails every proposition.

that

these

Northerners

often

know

little

positions and advances is the Antipodes is

inferiority
colonies;

21

of

cultural

another

is

the

and

intellectual

narrow

or

nothing

about

One reason
distinctive

the prevailing assumption of
life

(predominantly

in

these

local)

and

former

limited

the

southern
reading

Regrettably, the ignorance extends to many locals.
In particular, those
infected with Sydney materialism appear remarkably ill-informed as to basic
features of other Australasian programs.

19

undertaken by Northern luminaries.

But,

having

despite

been

given

sufficient

we

cause,

shouldn’t

cut

ourselves off from Northern paradigms and influences (we could hardly manage

to anyway:

propaganda is different).

so we should stay informed of, but not imitators

these continuing traditions:

of, or part of,

far

from

cutting

these

nowhere,

In any case,

their enterprises.

in older Northern traditions,
So

loose

regional cultures are rooted

just as the people are largely European stock.

from these

(and

older

We can reasonably use what we need from

likely

traditions and

starting afresh

and

traditions,

minority)

the

from
local

variations that have already appeared are what we want to develop and perhaps
mutate, as again with wine styles.

Part
things,

of

the

proposal

then

we

that

increasingly

Northern paradigms.

what is

very great

Nor,

our

own

local

rather than working with pale northern reflections of
It is not as if we have to build from nothing,

very difficult - entirely original work,

components.

do

and so shape newer

encourage and develop our own research programs,

Antipodean paradigms,

22

is

to

to do -

to create cultural

try

For there are research programs already initiated, which have the

advantage

fortunately,

of

being grounded

do we need

in

to make

features

of

the

the story up -

shape the future is part of what the proposal

is about.

larger

culture.

though helping

to

Much of the story,

for Australia - New Zealand is a different and more difficult proposition - is

already indicated in Grave’s survey of Australian philosophy.

All one really

has to do is to bring out programs he has already indicated and provide some

22

See Culture, op.cit.

20

To pull the investigation down to a more concrete

elaboration and commentary.
level,

I shall sketch some more prominent cooperative programs - by no means

the only programs - and remark on some relevant features of them.

The longest running and best known program is, without much doubt,
of

Australian

naturalism,

and

which

aims

to

see

natural

the

that

world,

and

everything else, as suitably encompassed within the framework of the world of

(physical)

science.

empiricist metaphysics,
contains

as

program

The

23

is

generally

materialism,

Adelaide which subsequently died out there.

such famous

state

version

of

failures

in

materialism,

and

functionalism.
its

a

Anderson’s

program initiated

nowadays

Faced

reduction

trimmed theory of universals,

plans,

like

it

it

takes

all
now

Tt

in

The latter program has included

the mental-material contingent

components as

central

to

and is now best exhibited in Armstrong’s work.

subprogram Sydney

a major

back

traced

in,

identity theme and

more derivatively,

physicalisms
incorporates

a

with

a

conspicuous

"scientifically"

and an account of natural laws as relations of

universals, both components of

the developing

Sydney realism.

Parts of the

naturalism program, especially materialism and central state reductionism and
the unified science ideal, have had counterparts in the North, but the program

has,

for

the most

part,

despite export efforts,
smoothly, moreover,
and

23

earthy,

so

retained

its

distinctively

it never caught on in New Zealand.

into Australian culture.

far as

Australian character

-

The program fits

It is similarly down-to-earth,

philosophy can be, without

the fancy ideas or effete

Anderson’s metaphysics was however far more opposed to reductions than
what has succeeded it. For an account of Anderson’s philosophy, and a history
and account of Australian naturalism and materialism, see especially Grave,
op.cit.

21

idealism of European philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanism

with

which

much

pragmatism).
commitments,

of

And

and

North

it

yet

though it

not

does
is

(including

simmers

thinking

American

shrink

from

basically empiricist,

explicit

nowadays,

metaphysical

it

is not

from

the

positivistic

(rejecting a verification principle, in particular).

It

is

a city

program,

based

broadcast

mainly

University

of

Sydney to other metropolitan universities; but the program does extend outside

the universities a bit (a tiny bit) to the larger metropolitan culture.
North America,
the

broader

Russell,

so in Australasia,

community,or

Popper

Australasia

would

and

be

Kuhn
quite

little professional philosophy impinges on

even on
being
an

As in

the wider academic community,

(To

exceptional.

achievement,

through

one

to

turn

worth

this

working

work by

around

for.)

now reaches

in
The

naturalism program used

to

Perth, and has outliers

in Canberra, as well as a core of opposition there.

stretch

Apart from notable exceptions,

Adelaide;

the program has never had

more than a rather precarious hold,

in Melbourne:

25

it

the

same hold,

to

or

nor, more surprisingly,

24

In Canada, for example, while most academics from other disciplines would
know of, and perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of
Wittgenstein (though he is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually
none would know of Quine.
(The sampling is subjective.)
On the fairly recent ’triumph of professionalism* in philosophy in USA, see
Kuklick, op.cit., p.565ff.
Kuklick brings out well some of the more
disastrous features of professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that
the virtuous
features
resulting
from some
professionalisation
can
be
synthesized with broader philosophical activity.

25

The exceptions include Ellis’s distinctive program, which can be accounted
part of the broader naturalist program, and at Monash the work of F. Jackson
and, earlier, of H. Munro in value theory.

22

has it had heavyweight criticism from there (or indeed much external criticism

from elsewhere),

the old confrontation of major city philosophies having died

out.

philosophy

Melbourne

is more historically oriented

stricken than Sydney; Melbourne

by

dominated

procession

a

a

then,

philosophy;

been

idealism

and

fashions:

Northern

earlier

Wittgenstein,

recently,

remarkable

religion

philosophy, much more than Sydney, has

of

more

philosophy;

Continental

and more

turnabout,

ordinary

Davidson

Quine,

and

language

extensional

reduction; now perhaps Lewis, Kripke and Dummett?

one

The

program

that

reaches

the

beyond

of

confines

the

cities

in

Australia - which is after all a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land

always

being

the other

Australian environmentalism,

- is

a

rather

diffuse

program, which has connections with the Colleges of Advanced Education in the

country towns and the communes on the North Coast.

much distinguished
environmental
Europe

by what

positions

it

are a

specifically having

as

not

is

feature of

what

So far the program is as

it

Serious and

is.

the New World,
of

transformed most

its

deeper

the Old World,

and

environment

and

natural

having little wild untouched country left, and little sensitivity accordingly

to

issues

Europe

that

such as

tend

admit

European

to

those of

concern

the

wilderness.

built

shallow approaches
superficiality

environmentalism

outside

and

(and

continues
North

The main

environmental

human-transformed

encourage

to

America.

environment,

situations).

techno-fix

dominate

North

much

issues

of

American

the

New

in

issues

And
World

environmentalism

differs significantly however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

in

the

religious-spiritual

component

respects as well (see further Culture).

of

the

former,

but

in

several

other

23

More positively, there are three strands to Australian environmentalism:-

Firstly, there is an extended utilitarianism, differing little in theory from

Bentham’s enlarged position, which insists upon counting in the utilities of
all sentient
figured

though

creatures.

prominently

it

has

position,

This

in animal

from a British base,

has

animal

liberation movements:

and

research

and

and

welfare

on domestic

focussed

developed

animals

animals,

used

in

hunted (wild) animals, it has also become entangled in issues of bio-research
more generally such as genetic engineering.

or much

interested in,

endangered species,

etc., except

the conversion of forests,

Secondly,

not

utilitarian

forests and

differs

naturalism.

and

which

ecosystems,

from

irreducible

recognises

which finds

especially wild and

American

26

lands,

bearing on

these have a

an

inadequate

there is a wider and a deeper ecological position, which is

psychological states,

sentience or

insofar as

and so deeper concerns get

spinoff from animal welfare,

deal.

the disappearance of wild

Wider and deeper environmental concerns appear only

animal pain and pleasure.
as a

It is not however concerned with,

Thirdly,

and

spiritualism

is

there

of

value

elsewhere

intrinsic value

natural
from

course,

an
as

systems.

in trees

and

This

position

of

American

extension
almost

than

everywhere,

a

reactionary component, critical of the other strands, which insists that all

that

needs

to be

accomplished

on

the

environmental

front

can

be

achieved

within older established (European) ethical and political frameworks.

Whereas materialism

is

based in Sydney, environmentalism is centred

in

Melbourne and Canberra, but also includes Brisbane and Perth. Also centred in

26

It
has
been described more
Environmental Philosophy (ed. D.
National University, 1980.

fully elsewhere:
see,
in
particular,
Mannison and others), RSSS, Australian

Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections in Melbourne,

but

in

few

Sydney,

and

materialism

program

other

which

program,
elsewhere.

and

major

perhaps

which

philosophy,

more

includes

to

centres

New

in metaphysics,

with

respectively,

the

theory

value

essentially

is

of

extends

and

their core

logic

a

especially

in

Zealand ,

program,

one

but

metaphysics.

Australia

than

also

been

has

the

Whereas

any

The
other

described

?7

The main

logic grounded

research program evident
program.

of the

in New Zealand

philosophy

is also

A program emanating from the work of Prior and

located mainly in Wellington,
The impact

programs have

program
areas

program.

relevant/paraconsistent

epistemology

from

relevant/paraconsistent

affecting

the

environmental

input

further

is

it might be called the extended modal

a

now

program.

program on philosophy is perhaps best seen in Cresswell’s

work.

Australian philosophy used to be known,

for its hard-headed empiricism;
not known

and still

is in some quarters,

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly

for anything much, except

perhaps,

in UK,

that

Prior brought

his

27

Again, like all the Australian programs, both those mentioned and others,
in Grave, op.cit. But see further, R. Routley,
’Research in Logic in
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania’, Research Papers in Logic #14, Australian
National University, 1983 (which also considers other programs in logic);
G.
riest and R. Routley, op. cit.; and R. Routley, R.K. Meyer and others,
Relevant Logics and Their Rivals, Ridgeview, California, 1982.

28

See especially M.J. Cresswell, Logics and Languages, Methuen, London,
1973; but see also work by Goldblatt and by Hughes referred to in Research in
Logic, op.cit.
Also described there is an original version of the modal
program (transparent intensional logic) elaborated by Tlchy at Otago.

25

unusual adaption of Russellian philosophy from that remote place.

Neither of

these impressions is particularly accurate; both are rather out-of-date.

the aim of work of the present type is, of course,
impressions,

not just

to reflect

or report

But

not just to correct these

on culture - for what one would

like to reflect upon is not sufficiently there - but also to help manufacture
elements of a culture, to make an image.

To

resist

the

North,

we

should

increase

our

efforts

to

further

the

nq

already flourishing

programs, and perhaps other sunrise projects;

to build

teaching and research around the programs selected for promotion, elaboration,
and criticism, to orient appointments, especially of involved local people, to

29

Among sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested (not all
of them feasible) are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social and
political alternatives,
peace
studies,
indigenous
regional
philosophies
(especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian). Another promising field,
with practical consequences,
for local
initiative is the philosophy of
education, where material produced by R.S. Peters has dominated the market,
with stultifying effects it is now alleged.

As foreshadowed with the notion of "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric,
and argument, concerning science and technology policy (presented in the case
of Australia in Jones, op.cit.) can be taken over to apply to X policy, where
X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.

26

on

Why bother?

these programs.

Why not simply buy our philosophy, like almost

all our technology, off the shelf, from the North? There are several arguments
for not doing this, in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched.

There

is,

firstly,

Northern products,
fine a

the

inferiority

and

built-in

Without

despite their attractive packaging.

most

of

putting

too

point on it, many of the imported intellectual goods are shoddy, and

only work for a very limited range of applications (e.g.
the

obsolence

vicinity

Antipodean

of

contradictions

philosophy

or

undoubtedly

dilemmas).
derives

from

Much

they’re hopeless in

that

shoddy

is

wrong

intellectual

with

goods

30

In fact something like the last has been the policy of the LSE Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a long period was that of
Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically).
As observed, it now
looks like the practice of the Otago Department also; and apparently it used
to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most places the practice is condemned as
nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for "new (Northern!
blood".
However there can be significant differences between nepotistic
appointments and those strengthening local programs.

It is at this stage, among others that administrative measures do matter;
for example, to ensure that suitable locally-engaged locals gain employment
rather than Northern stooges, to direct funds into on-going local programs
rather than imported fashions, etc.
There are various ways appropriate
administrative details can be handled, locally or nationally; but nothing
draconian, such as wholesale exclusion of noncitizens, is required.
Observe, indeed, that no restriction of academic appointments to nationals
(in Canadian style) or the like is being advocated.
Anyone who arrives at a
conclusion of that sort from what has been argued has misunderstood the case
in
crucial
respects.
As
a matter of
simple mathematics,
restricting
appointment fields characteristically reduces both quality of candidates
available (however quality is assessed) and range of possibilities open for
future research; and no such restrictions are advocated.
The author has
witnessed the debilitating effects of field restrictions at the Australian
National University and elsewhere.
31

Some of these arguments
centre also.

support

change

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

Yet buying this material is encouraged by hard-sell

imported from the North.

cultural ambassadors from the North, who are often enough paid to visit.
is

part

Northern

of

the

philosophical imperialism

colonialism

that

-

the

This

from the North - the successor

Antipodes

too

suffers,

willing

or,

to

more

remarkable, encourages!

Secondly, there is the inappropriateness of much of the Northern product,
especially

considered

metaphysics,

as

package,

a

environmental

concerns.

for

instance,

to

cover,

well

as

as

The European North has no satisfactory

land or environmental ethic fit for Antipodean circumstances, and the deeper
American package is too spiritually-loaded for mainstream Australian culture.
32

In

political

theory,

work

is

much

too

individualistic

the European product, especially the Marxist form,

and

competition-based,

American

unsuited being both too

precious and

for local

too high-tech

and
is

circumstances,

especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

Thirdly,
features

of

telling

also

import

comparative

advantage,

and

regionalism;

namely,

substitution

world’s markets and pressures

power structures

against

and fashions,

(including the Old Boy’s

removal

network in

are

appealing

avoidance

of

the

of overseas control

and

jobs, policies,

etc.),

and gaining of local control, employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly,

32

there

are

arguments

for

cultural

diversity,

applied

to

The point is elaborated in Culture.
At a more practical level Northern
products are again often unsuitable, though for different reasons.
For
example, the transfer of American agricultural methods and equipment to the
thin poor soils of the Antipodes has had disastrous effects, at last beginning
to be recognised.

28

part

philosophy

as

complexity,

sheer diversity,

of

culture:

intellectual

stability,

arguments

In fact,

etc.

built into the whole notion of 'culture’ transfers.
dense,

productive garden.

the garden analogy

Naturally we want a rich,

But not only seeds and plants but weeds and many

We

pests are being introduced.

obtain not only good products,

Indian maize
This is why

and European cultivars, but European pests and American weeds.

selectiveness

and

control

richness,

from

essential,

are

as

against

haphazard

previous

procedures.

The proposal is not for, nor would the case sustain, a narrow localism,
with local

products, whatever

their quality,

heroes, replacing Northern ones.

local fashions,

and local

cult

That is certainly not the preferred way of

the newer regionalism, which tends to do without fashions and heroes and which

seeks durable quality in products,
is

it the way of

low environmental impact, and so on|^ nor

technology policy.

Rather,

as with

technology policy,

select niches which are not occupied or satisfactorily filled,
make a difference,

policy

has

to

be

publishing outlets,

components,

and ideas,

and use and develop local skills and methods.

selective

etc.).

given

resource

our

But granting

base

(of

can

Indeed the

philosophers,

regionalism, to what extent

should

for instance people, books and other teaching elements,

theories

and to what extent should they be produced,

trained,

be imported

conceived locally?

The possibility of selectiveness

means that many mixes

are possible.

least, on a particular mix.

33

where we

we

There

in different

is no need to insist,

components

so far at

The case for the present is mainly for a regional

See, for instance, A.A. Mazrui, A World Federation of Cultures: An African
Perspective, Free Press, New York, 1976.

29

shift, for a significantly greater degree of local autonomy and production.^

But it will do no harm to

Negatively,

local favour.

indicate

elements of a mix that

the suggestion is that we try to eradicate much of

That includes such things

the Oxford style of teaching and doing philosophy.

removal

as

of

the

Locke-Berkeley-Hume

emphasis

undue
(a

finds much

standard

on

British

British
focus);

empiricism

of

centred

on

quasi-historical

the

approach with however no proper attention to sources; of reinforcement of the

prevailing

Anglo-American

status

quo.

The

heavy

particular, has mostly been a very conservative one.
the

main

movements

philosophy,

but

emanating

also

the

from

England,

Moore-Wittgenstein

Oxford

influence,

in

More generally, many of

especially
practice,

ordinary
have

language

been

very

protective of the Northern status quo; they tend to leave things very much as
they are,

and

recommend

just

this.

Positively,

the

proposal

is

that we

achieve further disassociation from the Anglo-American empiricist past in two

34

Does it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should. For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs, is
regional, not global: this is supposed to shed great light on our previously
confused defence policies.

35

The point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words and Things, Victor Gollancz,
London, 1959.
But even ordinary language philosophy, though conservative, and
though it much contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations,
had its liberating elements, e.g. removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.
Nor has the social impact changed much with the subsequent decline, since
1959, of ordinary language philosophy, the increasing insolvency of Oxbridge
philosophy, and its consequent limited take-over by right-wing Ivy League
American philosophy.
By contrast, the less economically influential growth of
redbrick and applied philosophy
in some of the
British redbrick and
polytechnic institutes has touched no more than the surface of Oxbridge
practice.

30

local

emphasizing

by

ways:

framework,

and

projects

range

the

diversifying

by

move

that

outside

of

that

constricting

philosophical

traditions

selectively drawn upon, to include not only neglected Continental strands and

but also

parts of Eastern thought,

philosophy.

idea

The

is

that

Australasian

Pacific ethnic material and

plurality of

such a

especially

sources,

in

teaching, will assist in removing narrower cultural biasses, such as British
enable more

and

parochialism,

be obtained.

to

discrimination

Then

too we

should be better able to see the ranges of theories that are open to us in the

Antipodes and how to advance our own programs.

There remain some things we should want to see whatever mixes are chosen

in different Antipodean regions.

One crucial issue is the removal of Northern

bias from papers and publications, research seminars and lectures, letters of
reference, and so on.
the

and

works

irrespective

discussion

This Northern bias is a disposition to cite and discuss

projects

of
and

Northern

quality

the

to

of

ignore

of

the

authors,

their

works

the

more

contribution

of

the

to

authors,

local

irrespective of the quality of their contribution.
defer to

famous

better,

the

under

topic

again

largely

It is the disposition to

authors from prestigious Northern institutions, and to uncritically

accept their opinions of worth,

importance,

It

etc.

is

the disposition

to

write or lecture as though work produced locally either does not exist or has

not

been

influential

philosophers,

are,

(thus

if

ensuring

anything,

more

that

it

inclined

is
to

not).

Northern

And

Australasian

bias

than

many

overseas intellectuals, who are perhaps less concerned to be seen as belonging

to the Northern mainstream.

bias

affects

not

only

the

The reduction, and eventual removal, of Northern

practice

of

individual

philosophers,

but

the

policies of selection and review committees as well as of editors and referees

of

local

reorientation,

innovations

It

journals.

among

involves,

Antipodean philosophers

with

so

better,

they

can

cite

other

getting

local

work

things,

intellectual

to know local work and
or

point

out

regional

Initiatives and developments - things that would be assisted by greater local
content

in courses

taught,

more

time

spent

at

local

institutions on

study

leave, and so on.

APPENDIX 1. Background notes on the philosophy supply situation.

Sociological

investigation of the philosophy labour market in Australia and New Zealand has
yet

to be

attempted.

But a

picture of

some elements underlying the

numerical argument of the text can be gained from the following table:

simple

32

TABLE 1. Ph.Ds in Philosophy: a USA - Australasian comparison

USA
Number (Male./Female)

Australia

New Zealand

1974

413 (346/67)

6

0

1975

375 (318/57)

5

0

1976

382 (319/63)

8

0

1977

330 (264/66)

3

2 (1/1)

1978

283 (235/48)

5

5 (4/1)

1979

285 (204/54)

9

3 (2/1)

1980

246 (187/59)

4

N.A.

1981

N.A.

4

0

Notes:
1. The breakdown of the USA and New Zealand numbers by sexes (male/female) is
given.
Similar figures do not appear to be available for Australia.
2.
The US figures are for the academic year ending in the Year shown, e.g.
1978 covers the Northern academic year 1977-78. Southern figures are for the
calendar year shown.

Sources:

Digest of Education Statistics, US National Center for Education
Statistics;
University Statistics,
Australian Bureau of
Census
Statistics; New Zealand Education Statistics.

Comments:
1.
The contraction of US doctoral production and the concomitant rise in
female representation, are clearly indicated.
The Australian figures are
likely too small to reflect such trends and responses to the academic market.
2.
Some of the Australasian numbers include Americans; likewise the American
figures provide no nationality breakdown.
3. There is no information available on the number of Australians proceeding
to higher degrees in philosophy outside Australia.
In applying table 1 some simplifying assumptions are made.

assumed that

For example, it is

candidates for appointment to regular university positions now

would have a doctorate or the equivalent (until recently a B.Phil was taken as

a

near

of

equivalent

It

well).

a North

what

assumed,

is

American

Ph.D.;

seems

take

to

could

publications

case,

the

that

serve

as

the number

of

Australasians proceeding to higher degrees in philosophy abroad is relatively
small, and no more than the order of Ph.Ds. taken locally.

without upsetting applications of table 1,

It can be assumed,

that Australasian graduates match,

say, the upper half of American graduates in standard attained.

There is no compiled information on academic vacancies in philosophy in

Australia or New Zealand - on the numbers of vacancies, on how the positions
It would however be a routine,

are filled, by what nationalities, sexes, etc.

if tedious,

matter to assemble some of this

data,

is of considerable

which

relevance to the planning of philosophy programs.

4.
On the earlier idea of a National Philosophy for Australia.

APPENDIX 2.

considering
Editor

the

of

initial

to

corresponding

Lebensanchauung ’
’an Australian

argument

is

possibility

’the

AJPP,

Francis

Philosophy

is

as

truth

and

its

between

as

that

a

theory may not

be held,

(Australian)

two

senses

Weltanschauung

and

'a scheme of the universe’,

that of
a

Christian

confirmation

independent of national sympathies or prejudices’.
mean

distinguished

Anderson,

ridiculous

the

Philosophy’,

distinction

In the first,

(p.292).

both

National

a

German

’the

that

of

In

or

Science’.

falsification

The
’are

Granted: but that does not

fostered, etc.,

in one region but

not

others, as intuitionism was for long in in Holland, or Cartesianism in France.

In a second ’more intimate and personal’ way,

’a nation like an individual may

develop a certain temperamental attitude to the problems of existence, which
we may ... call its philosophy of life.

and its literature,

is a mode of

A nation’s philosophy,

expression for

the national

like its art

consciousness.

34

(pp.292-3).

It is a specialised form of the national genius ....’

short, part of the evolving national

culture.

is

from

by

entirely

means

no

separate

in the first place,

But,

the

It is,

initial

sense,

in

this

philosophy

a

comprising not merely a fairly comprehensive theory but also an integrated set

Furthermore, only by concession

of attitudes (like an operational paradigm).

units

single

accounted

philosophy,

of

meriting

distinctive

definite

literature,

Australian

like

particularly

’the Australian landscape’

’the national consciousness’ and

are such items as

(in

many

has

any

sense):

does

not

Australian

descriptors.

such

strands

things

to

form

it,

not

some

rather

loose

families.

Anderson

not

does

find,

really

to

hope

find

’a

in

modern

industrialised community’ - with its modular parts interchangeable with those
of others - a national philosophy of

with

life,

a

difference.

claims to find a (somewhat) trite moral base to build on,
humour,

courage

and

fair

particularly philosphical.
at

least

various

apart

of

life,

regional

is

but

dealing’,
So far,

not;

philosophies

then,

this

nothing

however

not

local

research

identifying and

trouble derives from the extravagant claim that
with

Goodness

these

and

-

’traditions ... of
distinctive,

all

or

there

exclude

So

programs).

legitimating a

being

far,

national

But shortly Anderson is plunged into inconsistency: the

philosophy, so good.

do

at

he

there could a national philosophy,

does

as

(such

problems about

from rational

but

fact

Tn

the

Beauty

eternal
-

then

of

values

and

only

Philosophy’ (p.295 with rearrangement).

the

then
But,

to do with these - as is virtually conceded,

’if Australia has nothing to

Spirit,

has

she

the

Ideals

nothing

to

of

Truth,

do

with

as Australia has nothing per se
these values involving a

’wider

sweep’ than any national boundaries - "she" has nothing to do with Philosophy,
contradicting

the

possibility

of

a

National

Philosophy.

Though

the

35

contradiction is easily avoided by rescinding the extravagant claim, the ideal
of a National Philosophy should be allowed to rest in peace: nationalism has
had its time.

-r /I

ZR. Routley^
Research School of Social Sciences

Australian National University

With thanks to R. Elliot, W. Godfrey-Smith, S. Grave and L. Mirlin, to
several members of the audience at the presentation of the paper at the 19R3
Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference, University of Adelaide, to
several referees for this Journal, and, not least, to the present Editor.

PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA

Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk philosophy, like
has long been

other intellectual and higher cultural activity in Australasia,

indeed

dominated,

swamped,

Northern

by

increasingly from North America.

Europe, now

the

largely

and

cultural

baggage

other

imported,

influences,

Given
the

initially

the migration

ethnic

patterns,

composition

of

resulting ruling populations, such a result was virtually inevitable.

does not have to stay that way.

from

the

But it

Suitable policies, a good philosophy policy,

could change things.

The

of

thought

culture,

is

a

philosophy,

regional

hardly a new one.

In 1923,

matching

perhaps

a

regional

correspondent to the

a New Zealand

newly-launched Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the

possibility of ’a new kind or temper of philosophy under these southern skies’

which

Journal might

the

such a

reaching

role

for

(or,

not

community).

that

although

And

matter,

professional

merely

solid foundation

foster.The Journal has

for a

some

actively

pursued

philosophers

things

new regionalism

however hardly

but

have changed
in philosophy,

its
a

fulfilled

pronounced

wider

aim

of

Australasian

in Australia,

laying a

that possibility of a

new temper of philosophy has hardly been realised. There is little in the way
the

southern skies were intended to include: but few distinguishing features,

’no

a new kind

distinctively

^AJPP, March

same volume,
Appendix 2.

and

New

temper of

philosophy under New Zealand

skies, which

of

Zealand

1923,

p.74.

p.292.ff;

his

characteristics,

The

have

question was

discussion

is

shown

up

in

New

Zealand

taken up by the Editor in the

considered

below,

especially

in

2

philosophy’.

9

New Zealand remains a substantial net importer of philosophy,
The situation of colonial dominance that used to prevail in

and philosophers.
Australia,

where

virtually

and

chairs,

all

many

other

philosophy, were filled by academics from the North,

posts

academic

in

tends to persist in New

Zealand, where no established chairs are occupied by locals.Given the. usual
power and influence of professors in small departments,

topics

covered

and

considered

and

in courses designed,

especially appointments

made,

the

heavy

Northern orientation of philosophy taught and researched in New Zealand is not
The Northern control is perhaps most strikingly exhibited at the

surprising.

oldest

of

New

Zealand

universities,

University

the

of

Otago,

where

the

Philosophy Department has been substantially captured by a British School and
increasingly

looks

event,

the

like an offshoot of

overwhelming

Anglo-American

the

University of London.In any

dominance of

New Zealand

philosophy

also a feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian philosophy - can
be confirmed

by a

content survey of the courses offered and research papers

written at New Zealand universities.

Even when local people have been appointed to positions in Australasia,

they have been brought up on a solid diet of Anglo-American material, and they

have often been reforged or finished in the North as well.

In particular, the

2,
S.A. Grave, A History of Philosophy in Australia, Queensland University
Press, 1983, p.l. Page references are to the manuscript.
The paper draws
heavily on this history.

^This

claim was

correct at the

time of

presentation of

1983).
With the recent loss of chair at Wellington,
qualification, but the pattern of domination persists.

the

the paper

(August

claim may

require

4In the 1983 Commonwealth University Handbook listing, 6 of the 8 members of

the Department held their main degree, Ph.D., from London, and one of the
remainder from Exeter.
Only one member of the Department, soon to retire,
falls outside the nexus.

3

requirements

in

the Australasian universities

of

period of

the major

post­

World War II expansion were conveniently seen to in the case of philosophy by

the

Oxford

B.Phil.

Many

degree.

of

departments

philosophy

remain

full

of

products of this cultural mill: indeed until the mid 70s candidates finished

in Oxford were hard

to beat out when they applied for positions, such was the

prestige of Oxford and

(unwarranted)

the regrettable,

continuing,

but still

"cultural cringe".

Nonetheless,

been

in

occurring

scene

the

Northern

the Antipodes,

be

will

(as

despite

especially on

indicated).

significant

dominance,

is

It

the Australian

worth

asking

changes

have

philosophical
Australian

whether

philosophy is moving towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than
100 years ago when the Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought)

and

together,

its "golden age" began.American

the same again, and became its own thing.

philosophy was never quite

There are nouT new forces operating

which could help to move Australian philosophy in such a direction.

the

widespread

regionalism,0
other

local

fashioning
provides

a

emergence,

which

applies

choices;
of

national

model

for

and

particularly

to

in

cultural

stark

science
reflection

and
in

in

alternative

and

technology
regional

there

there are

also some

of

choice

along

is

policies,
philosophy

directly bears on parts of the philosophy of science.

soon appear,

culture,

ideological

contrast,

serious obstacles

There is

the

a

new
with

centralised

which

not

only

policy

but

also

Unfortunately, as will
to regional

philosophies

and to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

See B. Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy; Cambridge, Massachusetts
1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977, Parts 2 and 3.
60n this bio-regionalism, see especially, Fourth World News, vol.

1,

and K. Sale, Human Scale, Cox^ard, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1980.

1983,

USA, long an importer of culture from Europe,
of

exporter

culture,

certainly

components of

higher culture

philosophical

output

Australasia,

not

if

from

such as
Oxford

following

philosophy

should

not

but

achieve

also

the American

there

Are

Yes,

in philosophy?

evidently

(witness

taken).

has

suit,

payments, especially

balance of

culture,

lower

of

has recently become a net

a

reasons

better

of

turn
why

cultural

there are reasons.

In

the first place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and

perhaps in

part derived

entails

economic

dominance

most

Australasia’s

of

from, vast changes in economic power relations.

cultural dominance,

since

culture,

there

there is
is

little prospect

serious

no

prospect

If
for
that

Australasia will ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least
nuclear destruction of

not without

the North,

flow of commodities, cultural and other).
universities

not

only

increasingly

of

Americans,

contingent

of

former

group,

Northern cultural
As

they.

priorities,
that

they

whose

entire

as observed,

Antipodean

Northern

academics,

of

include

a

research

and

additional

substantial
teaching

is

bent

to

It is unlikely that this influential segment, especially

will

(become

commitments,

long

component

also

fellow-travellers,

Northern concerns.
the

Secondly,

large

a

contain

and disruption of the

as

so

apart

Antipoduans

they are in a bind

locally acclimatised as

do

from

not

situation;

the

isolated

drastically

to)

give up

Nor

person.

alter

their

its

should

cultural

for it can be persuasively argued

they would be better off, as far as quality and product goes, stocking

their universities with American teaching components and researching Americanoriented concerns.

One

simple

numerical

argument

that

Antipodean

universities

would

be

better off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:- The (higher

degree)

graduates

of

Australasian

culturally distinguished, at

and

American

are

not

significantly

least in subjects such as philosophy.

Consider

5

now

number

the

quality

of

Austroamerican graduates;

academics

of higher

per number

produced

say there is 1 per every n graduates.

degree

The (great)

preponderance of graduates will be Americans, just by virtue of their vastly

greater population and their more extensive system of university education.
So also then, just by ratio considerations, the great preponderance of quality
academics

from an

drawn

percentiles among

upper

they

interested

universities.

Austroamerican base

those quality products.

quality,

in

an

Such

be American,

will

would

argument

does

CLearly, Antipodeans,

appointing

be

not

as will

work

to

more
show

Americans

that,

for

the

were
their

to

similar

reasons, American universities should be full of Chinese or Indian professors,

for

two

Asians

reasons;
and

first

Americans,

there

are

especially

significant

in

cultural differences

disciplines

such

as

between

philosophy;

and

secondly, their university systems do not deliver such great quotas of higher

degree or high quality graduates, at least in philosophy.

The conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a popular one.
anti-Americanism felt
the

universities;

The

in portions of the Australasian community extends into

and

recently

there

has

been

increasing

insistence,

especially by the now aging younger Turks that university positions should be

reserved for locals.

This at the same time as these Turks often preach of an

international community of scholars,

presumably then with "free"

interchange,

As indicated in Appendix 1, where assumptions made in the argument are
defended, the ratio of US philosophy graduates with doctorates as compared
with Australian exceeds 30 to 1.
And, as is well-known, the extent of
university education is much greater in USA than in Australasia: indeed
Australia is in this respect among the worst educated of the developed
nations, as OECD figures have made plain (see, e.g., B. Jones, Sleepers Wake',
Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, Chapter 7).

6

etc.

They cannot have it all ways.3

So

long

the

continues,

the

present

centre

will

as

they will

economically;

them if

large to

it is

free-flow

the

dominate

have more

interchange

than us,

periphery
and

ideas

of

and

culturally

jobs

here

personnel

as

well

as

should go by and

(centrally-determined) quality in this high cultural

business that we seek, as mostly claim.

it

Now
anyway,

is

that

arguments.

widely

there

For we

is
are

enough

recognised,

something

not

lower-down

drastically

wrong

hierarchical

with

these

ladders
sorts

flooded with high-quality Northerners who

regularly drive out local contenders for positions,

of

would

if we only preferred the

Northerners when they were quite visibly superior: rather we are inundated by
Americans with inflated references, who have the messages of the centre better
than

locals

echelon

do,

(often

and

remote Northern

Northern

whose shortcomings

biassed)

fields tend

appointment

are known better.

to look greener to

committees

than

dusty

higherlocals

As is beginning to be recognised too,

the Northern centres tend to retain their higher-quality products, and allow

g

A reverse flow of the better orthodox academics from Australasia to America
should also be expected (outside times of university contraction).
According
to assumptions of this brain, drain argument, which is based on labour market
considerations,
appointment
and
lifestyle conditions
for academics
are
generally better in USA than Australia and much better than those in
economically-depressed New Zealand (e.g. higher salaries, better standard of
living, superior research conditions, etc.).
So, other things being equal,
able academics from the Antipodes will relocate in USA as academic positions
become available. The argument also helps explain why Antipodean universities
cannot expect, for the most part, to attract really top-drawer Northerners for
very long.
Of course, economically irrelevant factors do induce interference; e.g.
perverse commitments to odd-ball Antipodean intellectual enterprises which
reduce market acceptability, or pre-industrial ties to place or persons or
lifestyle which unduly restrict mobility (such as local roots,
family
attachments, even distaste for American urban lifestyles).

7

them

be

to

exiled

the

to

periphery

only

if

they

fall

somehow

foul of

the

system (e.g. of the academic system for political or personal reasons).

often

Northern

the

have

centres

disposed of

their

intellectually

Too

inferior

products in the periphery.

All this makes the

appointing

Northerners,

position look doubly bad. We ought,
especially Americans,

even if they are overrated

their references, and usually not out of the top drawer,

quality.

And yet

to be

it seems,

in

in order to maximize

doing so does not achieve the desired quality result, and

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

there

Fortunately

obtain

way out

a

from

this

awkward

and that is the way of regionalism.

shaky arguments;
and

is

cultural

sufficient

distance,9

so

that

situation and

these

We do our own things;

they

are

not

simply

subtitutable for us.

Then the shaky numerical argument does fall down.

before

the

we

elaborate

emerging

proposal

there

are

other

But

influential

arguments to dispose of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

There is,

have so

to begin with,

far been conceded:

the argument for excellence,

that

excellence, which we all more or

elements of which

there is an objective commodity, quality or

less agree

about, which is proportionately

more abundant in the North, and which is what academic institutions crave and

seek and what appointments aim to capture, indeed maximize.

That at least is

the type of myth most of us have encountered; and many of us now know it is a

myth,

in

fact

appointments

a

that

dangerous
way,

any

Most

myth.
more

that

places

don’t

organisations

aim

even
just

try

to

to

make

maximize

9

This is easier in the cultural than the technological sphere.
However it
is
also
possible technologically:
(stronger)
theses of
technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.

8

profit, but
quality is

to satisfice on a mix of factors, of which assessed

rather seek

only one, and not often the highest ranking one.

Ability to fit

into some sort of program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more
important factor;

is no good reason why such a program should not

and there

So given prevailing practices,

sometimes be a regionally oriented one.

the

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

And,

in any event, there are enough local candidates of sufficient worth to proceed

regional

with

programs

without

sacrifice

clearcut

of

Local

excellence.

enterprise need entail no loss of excellence, and could well increase it.

The deeper-cutting objection is that there is something seriously amiss
with

the

idea

of

objective

objective

importance;

criticism

as

bracketed

out

notions

the

that
of

excellence,

and

notions

these

values

objective

with

are

open

more

contextual-relativisation

connected

the

to

the

generally,

component

of

notion

of

sorts

of

same

they

that

valuing:

have
the

framework or viewpoint to which these values relate.10

While those operating

within

as

a

rather

narrow

intellectual

paradigm,

such

ordinary

Oxbridge

language philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint,

since

it

is

incorporated

in

the

operational

paradigm,

and

so

arrive

at

seemingly objective quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.
in

truth

Marxist

value)

when

viewpoints.

transposed
Consider,

to

for

other

frameworks,

comparison,

the

e.g.

idealistic

judgements

as

to

or
the

quality or worth of a forest,made variously by a deep ecologist, an industrial
forester, and a recreational officer.

Compare judgements as to the quality of

What follows also begins to bring out what is omitted in a main theme of
R.S. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance, Bodley Head, London,
1974.
Note that defusing the notion of objective excellence does not lead to
subjectivism.
To avoid the customary false dichotomy, compare the notion of
validity (usually ceded to themselves these days by classical logicians with
that of quality).

9

a

holistically-inclined

Marxist,

and

environmental

Californian

philosophers

pretend

who

seemingly because

it

philosopher,

environmental

such

language,

are

There

work

judged,

be.

cannot

even

of the main philosophical

by members

is not done

ordinary

philosophers.

environmental

that

by

peer

group at Harvard and like institutions.

this

As

judgements

begins
the

of

to

reveal, judgements of quality are not independent of

work

of

importance

or

done

But

tackled.

problems

importance of problems and issues is highly paradigm dependent.

the

For example,

problems such as those of quantifying-in and of possible worlds and of de re

thought, which assume immense importance for fashionable referential
within the mainstream empiricist

restricted

that

outside

theories

paradigm, vanish to relative insignificance

viewpoint.

Now observe

that most

judgements as

to

what are the important problems and what constitutes important work - matters

helping determine quality - are shipped down from the North.

Their Importance

is relative to their paradigmatic placement, and the paradigms concerned are

exported to the Antipodes through the main channels already indicated.

We are

free to reject these paradigms and select alternatives, and there are, it can
good reasons

be argued,

choose

that

different

generally

energy

favoured

to do

just

technology

in

the

that,

much as

(or different

North

the

which

there are good reasons
military

North

is

from

technology)
eager

to

to

export

southwards.

Similar
which

might

argument,

points

apply

against

alternatively

that

be

mass-produced

and

cosmopolitan.

The argument

-marketed

'cosmopolitan subject',

called

people

sophisticated

the

from

is based

cosmopolitan/international

the

Peter

everywhere

Holland;

Stuyvesant

smoke

this

argument

international

superior

product

cigarette-sophistication

is

on the assumption that philosophy is a

that is is not the sort of enterprise for which place

10

and

people

are

significant

as

they

assumption has only to be presented
important thing,

for one

for

are

poetry

the

or

to be questioned.

novel.

is a finished product of a certain

that philosophy

process of production the place and people involved (e.g.

And

literature,

the

if

and

not

product

philosophy,

no

more

12

than

work

a

like

theorems

just

internationally-approved format,

since

is

The

It takes for granted,

sort (a propositional theory), not a process of production also.

material.

11

of

in discussion) are

art,

arguments

and

But in the

like

a

piece

assembled

in

of
an

then again the historical setting matters,
literature,

not

does

emerge

in

a

vacuum.

Plato’s philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if cribbed

in mid 20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.

It is important not to be sidetracked

do not

in aesthetics - that

extent sets

of themes

need

to

and arguments

into issues - resembling problems

be contested,

such as whether and what

produced in one place and setting could

have been produced in another. A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be
adopted

prospect

in

Europe

that

New

but

apparently will

Zealand,

nonnuclear energy strategy.

in

not

contrast

be,

with

whereas

there

Australia,

is

will

reasonable
pursue

a

It is the doing, and not what could be done, that

Grave, op.cit., p.2:
the term ’cosmopolitan subject’ used there comes
from Donegan.
As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
further C. Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam,
1982.
12

Like a paper in the biological sciences.
But here again technique
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

13

and

Related points can be made using less extreme examples, e.g. concerning
modern American work.
Consider, for instance such texts as W.V. Quine’s Word
and Object, (Wiley, New York, 1960) or R. Nozick’s Anarchy, State and Utopia
(Basic Books, New York, 1974).
The assumptions taken for granted, the
arguments involved, etc., are especially American: it is not just the style.
The acceptability of arguments and positions is dependent on place and
received paradigm.

11

here.

matters

Dialethic

which

logic,

the

invalidates

methodology of much Anglo-American philosophy, could

technique

and

perhaps be done in

the

North (though there would be substantial cultural resistance): it is not being

and is not likely to be done in the Anglo-American sphere.To

done

there,

this

extent,

Antipodeans

do

techniques,

logical

can

choose

their

international/cosmopolitan argument,

distinctive

own

their

distinctive

own

technology

thing.

and
The

stated in a form that would be telling,

fails.

Of course

it can be argued,

it is being argued, that Antipodeans don't

need to be, or even oughtn't to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies

and apparatus.

But meeting these considerations takes us to a whole new set

of issues concerning the merit of various policies and programs,

diversity, etc. - far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.
which we shaLl return,

arguments

concerning

the point of

The new arguments, to

are not a lot more convincing however than comparable

cooking:

that

we

don't

devising our own cuisine or wine styles.

need

to

be or

oughtn't

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

cooking is adequate: we should stick to that and buy it off the shelf from the
North,

ideally importing

the cooks

also.

Do we

have good

reasons to

think

that British philosophy is better, these days, than British cooking?

Antipodeans are free,

in principle then,

to pursue their own paradigms;

and to do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their

own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who have (had)

Much as communist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
communities in Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
the extreme possessive individualism of that culture.
On dialethic logic, see G. Priest and R. Routley, On Paraconsistency,
Research Papers in Logic, #13, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian
National University, 1983.

12

to be re-educated, from elsewhere, in particular from the North.
intellectual paradigms

the

of

features

local

But will the

perused tie with cultural paradigms, with distinctive

In a

culture?

though works of philosophy will

loose

not usually

at

way,

they may link,

least,

culture in

tie in with the

the

integral fashion that novels (as distinct from more technical works) sometimes

do.

Indeed,

cultural

certain

programs,
-

to

limited

extent,

features,

not

they

do

restricted

already link.

add.

But

style,

independent - or independent

acceptability,

truth,

philosophical

’an Australian

compared with what matters

is

this

though

considers

Grave

particular

to

help mark philosophy in Australia as

that

'unimportant

hastens

a

to

product'

in philosophy'

do matter,

and

are

he
not

so far as their perception goes in the case of

truth and correctness^3 - from underlying broad theory or received paradigm.

However the marks Grave cautiously advances, significant though they are,

do

not

serve

features

to

the

distinguish

Australian

philosophy

Australian

exhibits

in

product,

lesser

the
degree

adventurous and polemical philosophy of Greek antiquity.

by Passmore

as

'most

typical

of

first

two
the

than

being
more

The first, described

Australian philosophy',

is

a 'diversity of

approach and readiness to put forward an unconventional or unfashionable point

of

view',

philosophy,

something
which

more

(with

typical

some

of

notable

ancient

philosophy

exceptions)

than

exhibits

Australian
a.i

austere

Nothing need be conceded to strong cultural relativity themes, though they
would support the case.
It is enough that our theories remain radically
incomplete and that there can accordingly be rival theories as to what is
true.
Similarly, however philosophy is conceived - as the search for truth,
explanation, understanding and wisdom (all of these and more, really), or as,
more vaguely, inquiry of a certain sort - there can be, and will be, competing
accounts; so a pluralistic theory is inevitable in giving a fuller view.
l^Both preceding quotations, while included as such in Grave's Introduction,
are from J. Passmore, 'Philosophy', in The Pattern of Australian Culture (ed.
A.L. McLeod), Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1963, pp.131-168.
The
same annotation also applies to the third mark.

13

uniformity reflecting that often attributed to the land itself.

and

surprising,

more

most

'the

philosophy,

Wittgensteinian

extraordinary

discussed

by

itself’

Grave) ,

criticism by

sharp

and

political

relevant/paraconsistent
to

example

...

Andersonian

(p.2).

This

of

character'

manifestoed

the

the

__

being

if

Sydney,

example

is

Australian

line-up
it

was

far

from

between

the

not

isolated:

them concern the fervour generated by "Australian materialism",

others among
the

notable

Melbourne

philosophy

Andersonian

is

mark

The second,

engagement

the

and

by

some

growing

philosophy departments

confrontation

(both

concerning

the

program, with the local ('adversarial') style leading

Connected

Americans.

these

with

first

two marks

are

further characteristics of much Australian philosophy, as of much 18th century

Scottish philosophy and
directness,

unkindly

turn of

unwillingness

(in

add

the

this century Cambridge philosophy:17

to muffle points,

hope

of

locating

a

namely

surface clarity and,

some would

difference),

bluntness,

genuine

unsubtlety and crudity.

The third and the fourth marks advanced
Grave

in

philosophy.

effect

notes,

hardly

are very different, but again as

distinguishing

features

of

Australian

The third, which applies well to other intellectual areas, is the

contrast of the Australian reputation in philosophy indeed of Australia as a
center

of

philosophical

inquiry’,

with

the

anti—intellectual

national

stereotype of Australians as a people ’devoted to physical achievement rather
than to

intellectual subtlety’.

Anglo-American

philosophy;

namely

The

the

fourth mark is especially a feature of
isolation

of

academic

philosophy

Australasia from, and its general indifference or even hostility to,

in

the sort

17 •
though for the most part that influenced by Sydney rather than that
originating in Melbourne.
This again reflects the different historical
influences bearing in Sydney and Melbourne philosophy:
roughly, Scottish
versus Continental antecedents.

14

of

imported

philosophy

(e.g.

that

Nietzsche

of

and

the

existentialists)

generating interest in literary and arts circles.

The

failure

philosophy

sufficiently

matter.

not

does

separated

For

its

by

to

marks

such

of

adequately

one

the

thing,

out

separate

research projects.

Australian

For

another,

Australian
produce

is

regionalism

should not be confused with nationalism, nor more regional positions such as

Sydneyside

materialism

modalism

Wellington

or

with

Nationalism in philosophy, as in most other things,

not

to

be

the

and

encouraged;

new regionalism

philosophies.

national

is an undesirable trait,

is linked,

in other cultural

things, with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state power.

-A

■A

To get

back

*

to where we were:

A

the

A

emerging

proposal

is

this,

that

we

start - or better much increase - doing our own distinctive things, and that
we

team up

to

do

so.

In fact

there are

several suggestions

that begin

to

emerge, concerning research and teaching, publications and appointments, study

These are not just that we do our own selection

leave and sponsored visitors.

topics

of

and

people,

and

style

and

methods,

decide

instead of having these foisted upon us - not just,

our

own

priorities,

that is, that we play our

own games (whether invented here or taken over from the North) and not theirs,
Rules and Rugby instead of Gridiron and Basketball - but. that we abandon the

individual competitive model of cultural achievement, sold to us and fostered

18

See, e.g.,
London, 1957.

Sale,

op.cit.,

and

L. Kohr,

The

Breakdown

of Nations,

RKP,

The Editor of the new 1923 AJPP did however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of (what must have surprised some New Zealand readers) an
Australian Philosophy; some of the issues there raised (p.292ff) are addressed
in Appendix 2.

15

by the North, in favour of a group cooperative approach (elements of which are

already modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

The thoughts here are simple and familiar.
digging example:

it is well-known that two people cooperating can dig a ditch

and enjoyably

more rapidly

On the one side is the ditch­

than two

people working

on the ditch separately.

Cooperative work tends to pay off - in philosophy or elsewhere - in terms of

output,

and enjoyment

quality,

in the

doing.

On the other side, experience

shows that we in the periphery cannot individually complete very successfully
with the centre on achievements in their programs.

for this.

the

nature of American academic

attainment

of

depends

results

access to unpublished material.

and

periphery

nationalistic

are

the

tend

verbal

rapid

communication

and

For, despite the individualism myth, work is

several clever people will be able to hit on it.

idea or result,
communications

upon

enterprise,^ much

and builds on the work of many; when the time is ripe for some-

jointly based,

result,

Despite the highly competitive

One is the communication situation.

predominantly individualistic
in

There are several reasons

to

important

assignment
lose out.

considerations

in obtaining

of

credit

Again
(e.g.

for

rapid
it.

publication of

Here

there is a mix
PoLes

tend

Then again

to

again

the

people

of reasons:promote

idea or

at

the

There

are

Polish

results,

Russians will cite a Russian who achieves a result at about the same time as

an outsider).

There

face-to-face seminars

19

is the fact that much is conveyed verbally and through
so that

local results will be conveyed.

There is the

Reflecting other features of the culture and enterprise of the centre
which are not so deeply embedded in Australasia: see further R. Routley,
'Culture,
philosophy,
and
approaches to
the natural
environment an
Australian
perspective’,
in The
Environment,
Ethics
and Ecology
(ed.
D. Bennett), The Faculties, Australian National University, 1984, and also
'Culture and the roots of political divergence: the Australian/American
contrast’, typescript, Canberra, 1983;
both referred to subsequently as
'Culture'.

16

limited

fact of

they

when

reading,

on

read

and that

people at

the

from

material

the centre

central

by

centre

tend to

concentrate

peopLe,

that

so

published items and results from the periphery will often not be noticed, and

may

well

out

lose

to

There

publication.

is

the

also

for merit,

receive, merit

competitors

central

more

fact

that

publication

than people towards the periphery.

if

even

people
and

they

achieve

the

at

centre

communication

central
tend

to

opportunities

Here economic factors do begin to enter;

consider the size and distribution of the academic market (there are, e.g., a

great many more academic philosophers in North America than in the whole rest
of the world), control of publishing outlets and journals (with few exceptions
all Northern), etc.

culture — we can

way we

shut off

the Northern philosophical propaganda in much the

shut off

our television

impressed

being

However economic power does not, and need not, determine

by

philosophical

those

to.

sets if we really want
middle-men

And we can stop

make

who

a

living

by

importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do? We adapt to the cultural-philosophical level, several
of those things, that have been suggested in the newer regionalism.
some

regional

importers

and

doctrines

and

awakening

and

self-reliance.

of,

and

local

from

the

North.

imitators

positions

local

We do not remain

commentators
For

We aim at

on

example,

we

and

slavish

peddlars

don’t

spend

of,

our

academic lives trying to tease out what Davidson or Dummett or Kripke meant by
this

or that

through.

To

in the

be

hope that

sure,

I

am

some pale Northern light will perhaps
not

suggesting

that we

emulate

the

filter

appalling

ignorance of people from the North who visit the Antipodes and know little or

nothing

about what

has

been done

or

is

being done here;^^ so

that we

have

Regrettably, the ignorance extends to many locals.
In particular, those
infected with Sydney materialism appear remarkably ill-informed as to basic
features of other Australasian programs.

17

eminent

their

visitors,

the

through

bags

National

Australian

cultural

with

heavy

University

accroutrements,

(now

the

main

trekking

centre

for

investigation of relevant logics) and Informing us that, or relying crucially
on the assumption that, a contradiction entails every proposition.
that

advances is

positions and
inferiority

cultural

of

another

colonies;

is

know

often

Northerners

these

little

is the

the Antipodes

intellectual

and

the

nothing

or

distinctive

prevailing assumption of the

in

life

these

(predominantly local)

narrow

about

One reason

former

and

southern

limited

reading

undertaken by Northern luminaries.

But,

despite

having

been

sufficient

given

cause,

we

shouldn’t

cut

ourselves off from Northern paradigms and influences (we could hardly manage
We can reasonably use what we need from

propoganda is different).

to anyway:

so we should stay informed of, but not imitators

these continuing traditions:

of, or part of,

In any case,

their enterprises.

the people are largely European stock.

in older Northern traditions, just as

So

far

from

nowhere,

cutting

these

loose

from

(and

older

these

likely

regional cultures are rooted

traditions

minority)

and

starting afresh

traditions,

and

the

from
local

variations that have already appeared are what we want to develop and perhaps

mutate, as again with wine styles.

Part

of

the

proposal

Is

then

that

things, encourage and develop our own
Antipodean
Northern

paradigms,

paradigms.

rather
It

is

we

increasingly

research programs,

very great

71

our

own

local

and so shape newer

than working with pale northern reflections

not as

if we

have to

- what is very difficult - entirely original work,

components.

do

build from nothing,

to

of

do

to try to create cultural

For there are research programs already initiated, which have the

advantage of

See Culture, op.cit.

being grounded

in features of the larger culture."1

18

Nor,

the

do we need

fortunately,
future

is

part

to make the story up - though helping to shape

of what the

Australia - New Zealand

proposal

Much of

about.

is

different and more difficult

is a

is

All one really

to bring out programs he has already indicated and provide some

to do is

elaboration and commentary.
level,

for

proposition -

already indicated in Grave’s survey of Australian philosophy.

has

the story,

To pull the investigation down to a more concrete

I shall sketch some more prominent cooperative programs - by no means

the only programs - and remark on some relevant features of them.

The longest running and best known program is, without much doubt,

of

Australian

naturalism,

and

which

aims

see

to

natural

the

that

world,

and

everything else, as suitably encompassed within the framework of the world of
(physical)

science.

The

program

is

generally

traced

as

a major

subprogram Sydney materialism,

Adelaide which subsequently died out there.
such

famous

components

central

state

version

of

failures

functionalism.
its

in

a

reduction

and

nowadays

Faced

plans,

like
it

It

in

The latter program has included

takes

it

all
now

Anderson’s

program initiated

as the mental-material contingent

materialism,

to

in Armstrong’s work.

empiricist metaphysics,-- and is now best exhibited
contains

back

in,

identity theme

and

more derivatively,

physicalisms

incorporates

a

with

a

conspicuous

"scientifically"

trimmed theory of universals, and an account of natural laws as relations of

universals, both components of

the developing

Sydney realism.

Parts of the

naturalism program, especially materialism and central state reductionism and

the unified science ideal, have had counterparts in the North, but the program
has,

for

the

most

part,

retained

its

distinctively

Australian

character

22

Anderson’s metaphysics was however far more opposed to reductions than
what has succeeded it. For an account of Anderson’s philosophy, and a history
and account
op.cit.

of Australian naturalism and materialism,

see especially Grave,

19

- despite export efforts, it never caught on in New Zealand.

smoothly, moreover,
and

philosophy can

far as

so

earthy,

into Australian culture.

The program fits

It is similarly down-to-earth,

be, without

ideas or

the fancy

effete

idealism of European philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanism

much

which

with

pragmatism).

North

of

And

commitments,

and

American

it

yet

it

though

not

does
is

simmers

thinking

basically

shrink

from

metaphysical

explicit

empiricist,

nowadays,

(including

is

it

not

positivistic

(rejecting a verification principle, in particular).

It

is

a

city

based

program,

broadcast

mainly

from

the University

of

Sydney to other metropolitan universities; but the program does extend outside

the universities a bit (a tiny bit) to the larger metropolitan culture.
North America,

the

broader

Russell,

so in Australasia, little professional philosophy impinges on

community,’-^

Popper

and

would

naturalism

program

Perth, and

has outliers

Apart

notable

be

or

Kuhn

Australasia

from

As in

quite

used

to

even on

being
an

the wider

exceptional.
achievement,

stretch

through

one

academic

(To

community,

turn

worth

to Adelaide;

this

working
it

work by

around

for.)

now reaches

in

The
to

in Canberra, as well as a core of opposition there.

exceptions,

the program has never had the

same hold,

or

In Canada, for example, while most academics from other disciplines would
know of, and perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of
Wittgenstein (though he is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually
none would know of Quine.
(The sampling is subjective.)

On the fairly recent ’triumph of professionalism’ in philosophy in USA, see
Kuklick, op.cit., p.565ff.
Iluklick brings out well some of the more
disastrous features of professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that
the virtuous
features
resulting
from
some
professionalisation
can be
synthesized with broader philosophical activity.

20

0

more than a rather precarious hold,

f

in Melbourne:^2
4
*

nor, more surprisingly,

has it had heavyweight criticism from there (or indeed much external criticism

the old confrontation of major city philosophies having died

from elsewhere),

Melbourne

out.

is more

philosophy

stricken than Sydney; Melbourne

by

dominated

a

procession

philosophy;

Continental

then,

philosophy;

religion

philosophy, much more than Sydney, has
Northern

of

earlier

fashions:

recently,

more

remarkable

a

and more

historically oriented

and

Davidson

Quine,

turnabout,

idealism

ordinary

Wittgenstein,

been
and

language

extensional

reduction; now perhaps Lewis, Kripke and Dummett?

The

one

program

that

reaches

the

beyond

confines

of

the

cities

in

Australia - which is after all a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land
always

the other

being

-

Australian environmentalism,

is

a

rather

diffuse

program, which has connections with the Colleges of Advanced Education in the

the communes on the North Coast.

country towns and

much distinguished
environmental

Europe

by what

positions

specifically

it

are a

having

is

not

as

feature of

transformed

what

So far the program is as

it

is.

the New World,

most

its

of

Serious
the

natural

and

deeper

Old World,

and

environment

and

having little wild untouched country left, and little sensitivity accordingly

to

such as

issues

Europe
that

tend

admit

European

to

those of

concern

shallow

built

approaches

superficiality

environmentalism

the

wilderness.

outside

(and

continues

North

and

The main

environmental

human-transformed

encourage
to

America.

environment,
situations).

techno-fix

dominate

North

much

issues

of

American

the

New

in

issues
And

World

environmentalism

differs significantly however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

2A

rhe exceptions include Ellis’s distinctive program, which can be accounted
part of the broader naturalist program, and at Monash the work of F. Jackson
and, earlier, of H. Munro in value theory.

21

in

the

religious-spiritual

component

of

the

former,

in

but

several

other

respects as well (see further Culture).

positively,

More

environmentalism:-

there

Firstly,

three

are

an

is

there

strands

extended

Australian

to

utilitarianism,

differing

little in theory from Bentham’s enlarged position, which insists upon counting
in the utilities of all sentient creatures.
British base,

has figured prominently in animal welfare and animal liberation
though

and

movements:

This position, developed from a

it

has

on domestic animals,

focussed

animals used

in

research and hunted (wild) animals, it has also become entangled in issues of
bio-research more generally such as genetic

or much interested in,

concerned with,

engineering.

endangered species,

It is not however
the disappearance

of wild lands, the conversion of forests, etc., except insofar as these have a
bearing on animal pain and pleasure.

Wider and deeper environmental concerns

appear only as a

spinoff from animal welfare, and so deeper concerns get an

inadequate deal.

Secondly, there is a wider and a deeper ecological position,

which is not utilitarian and which recognises irreducible value elsewhere than

forests and
differs

ecosystems, especially wild and
American

from

naturalism.

which finds

states,

psychological

sentience or

25

Thirdly,

spiritualism
there

is

and

of

intrinsic value

natural systems.
from

course,

an
as

in trees

This

position

of

American

extension

everywhere,

almost

and

a

reactionary component, critical of the other strands, which insists that all

that

needs

to

be

accomplished

on

the

environmental

front

can

be

achieved

within older established (European) ethical and political frameworks.

Whereas

materialism

is

based in Sydney,

environmentalism

is centred

in

It
has
been described
more
fully
elsewhere:
see,
in particular,
Environmental Philosophy (ed.
D. Mannison and others), RSSS, Australian
National University, 1980.

22

Melbourne and Canberra, but also includes Brisbane and Perth. Also centred in
Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections in Melbourne,

but

in

few

Sydney,

materialism and

from

program

other

which

program,

and

logic

program

perhaps

includes

extends

their core

value

more

to

centres

New

respectively,

the

especially

philosophy,

in

the

with

Logic

a

Whereas

in metaphysics,

theory

essentially

is

of

areas

major

which

and

program.

program,

but

one

metaphysics.

The

Australia

than

also

been

described

in New Zealand philosophy

is also a

Zealand,

has

any

other

26

elsewhere

The

programs have

epistemology

relevant/paraconsistent

affecting

relevant/paraconsistent

environmental

input

further

the

is

main

grounded

research program
program.

A

program emanating

located mainly in Wellington,

The impact

of the

evident

program on

from the

it might be called

work of

Prior and

now

the extended modal program.

philosophy is perhaps best seen in Cresswell’s

27
work. “

Australian philosophy used

for its

not

hard-headed empiricism;

known

for

to

be known,

and still

is in some quarters,

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly

anything much, except

perhaps,

in UK,

that

Prior brought

unusual adaption of Russellian philosophy from that remote place.

his

Neither of

26

Again, like all the Australian programs, both those mentioned and others,
in Grave, op.cit.
But see further,
R. Routley,
'Research in Logic in
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania', Research Papers in Logic #14, Australian
National University, 1983 (which also considers other programs in logic);
G. Priest and R. Routley, op. cit.; and R. Routley, R.K. Meyer and others,
Relevant Logics and Their Rivals, Ridgeview, California, 1982.
27

See especially M.J. Cresswel.1, Logics and Languages, Methuen, London,
1973; but see also work by Goldblatt and by Hughes referred to in Research in
Logic, op.cit.
Also described there is an original version of the modal
program (transparent intensional logic) elaborated by Tichy at Otago.

23

these impressions is particularly accurate; both are rather out-of-date.

But

the aim of work of the present type is, of course, not just to correct these
impressions,

not just

to reflect

or report

on culture - for what one

would

like to reflect upon is not sufficiently there - but also to help manufacture
elements of a culture, to make an image.

To

resist

the

already flourishing

North,

we

should

increase

our

efforts

to

further

the

programs, and perhaps other sunrise projects;*'^ to build

teaching and research around the programs selected for promotion, elaboration,
and criticism, to orient appointments, especially of involved local people, to

Among sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested (not all
of them feasible) are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social and
political
alternatives,
peace
studies,
indigenous regional
philosophies
(especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian). Another promising field,
with practical consequences, for local initiative is the philosophy of
education, where material produced by R.S. Peters has dominated the market,
with stultifying effects it is now alleged.

As foreshadowed with the notion of "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric,
and argument, concerning science and technology policy (presented in the case
of Australia in Jones, op.cit.) can be taken over to apply to X policy, where
X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.

24

these programs.

79

Why bother?

Why not simply buy our philosophy, like almost

all our technology, off the shelf, from the North? There are several arguments

for not doing this, in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched.

There
Northern

fine a

is,

firstly,

products,

the

despite

inferiority

their attractive

and

built-in

packaging.

of

most

Without putting

too

point on it, many of the imported intellectual goods are shoddy, and

only work for a very limited range of applications (e.g.
the

obsolence

vicinity

Antipodean

of

contradictions

philosophy

undoubtedly

imported from the North.

dilemmas).

or

derives

from

Much
shoddy

they’re hopeless in

that

is

wrong

intellectual

with
goods

Yet buying this material is encouraged by hard-sell

cultural ambassadors from the North, who are often enough paid to visit.

This

29

In fact something like the last has been the policy of the LSE Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a long period was that of
Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically).
As observed, it now
looks like the practice of the Otago Department also; and apparently it used
to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most places the practice is condemned as
nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for "new (Northern)
blood .
However there can be significant differences between nepotistic
appointments and those strengthening local programs.
It is at this stage, among others that administrative measures do matter;
for example, to ensure that suitable locally-engaged locals gain employment
rather than Northern stooges, to direct funds into on-going local programs
rather than imported fashions, etc.
There are various ways appropriate
administrative details can be handled, locally or nationally; but nothing
draconian, such as wholesale exclusion of noncitizens, is required.

Observe, indeed, that no restriction of academic appointments to nationals
(in Canadian style) or the like is being advocated.
Anyone who arrives at a
conclusion of that sort from what has been argued has misunderstood the case
in crucial
respects.
As
a matter of
simple mathematics,
restricting
appointment fields characteristically reduces both quality of candidates
available (however quality is assessed) and range of possibilities open for
future research; and no such restrictions are advocated.
The author has
witnessed the debilitating effects of field restrictions at the Australian
National University and elsewhere.

30t,
c
Some of
centre also.

,
these

arguments

support

change

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

25

is

part of

Northern

philosophical

the

colonialism

the

that

-

imperialism

North -

from the

too

Antipodes

willing

the successor

suffers,

or,

to

more

remarkable, encourages!

Secondly, there is the inappropriateness of much of the Northern product,
especially

considered

as

metaphysics, environmental

for

package,

a

to

cover,

well

as

as

The European North has no satisfactory

concerns.

land or environmental ethic

instance,

fit for Antipodean circumstances, and the deeper

American package is too spiritually-loaded for mainstream Australian culture.
In

political

American

work

is

much

too

individualistic

the European product, especially the Marxist form,

and

competition-based,

unsuited being

theory,

both too

precious and

too high-tech for local

and

is

circumstances,

especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

features

of

telling

also

Thirdly,

import

world’s markets
power structures

against

substitution

and pressures

and

comparative

advantage,

regionalism;

namely,

and fashions,

(including the Old Boy’s

are

appealing

avoidance of

the

removal of overseas control

and

network in

jobs,

policies,

etc.),

and gaining of local control, employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly,

there

arguments

are

philosophy

as

complexity,

sheer diversity,

part

of

intellectual

stability,

for

cultural

culture:
39
etc. “

diversity,

arguments
In fact,

from

applied

to

richness,

the garden analogy

31
The point is elaborated in Culture.
At a more practical level Northern
products are again often unsuitable, though for different reasons.
For
example, the transfer of American agricultural methods and equipment to the
thin poor soils of the Antipodes has had disastrous effects, at last beginning
to be recognised.

“See, for instance, A.A. Mazrui, A World Federation of Cultures: An African
Perspective, Free Press, New York, 1976.

26

built into the whole notion of ’culture' transfers.
dense,

But not only seeds and plants but weeds and many

productive garden.

pests are

We

being introduced.

and European

and

are

control

obtain not only good products,

European pests

cultivars, but

selectiveness

Naturally we want a rich,

Indian maize

and American weeds.
as

essential,

against

This is why
haphazard

previous

procedures.

The proposal
with local

is not for, nor would the case sustain, a narrow localism,

products, whatever

local

their quality,

heroes, replacing Northern ones.

fashions,

and local

cult

That is certainly not the preferred way of

the newer regionalism, which tends to do without fashions and heroes and seeks

durable quality in products,

way of technology policy.
which

are

difference,
has

to

outlets,

be

not

occupied

impact, and so on;

low environmental

Rather, as with technology policy, we select niches
satisfactorily

or

where

filled,

given

etc.).

our

resource

But granting regionalism,

base

(of

we

can

make

a

Indeed the policy

and use and develop local skills and methods.
selective

nor is the

philosophers,

publishing

to what extent should components,

for instance people, books and other teaching elements, theories and ideas, be

imported

and

Locally? The

to

what

extent

should

they

be

produced,

trained,

conceived

possibility of selectiveness in different components means that

many mixes are possible.

particular mix.

There is no need to insist,

so far at least, on a

The case for the present is mainly for a regional shift, for

a significantly greater degree of local autonomy and production.^

But

it will

do

no

harm

to

indicate

elements of a mix

that finds much

Does it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should. For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs, is
regional, not global: this is supposed to shed great light on our previously
confused defence policies.

27

the suggestion is that we try to eradicate much of

Negatively,

local favour.

the Oxford style of teaching and doing philosophy.

as

removal

Berkeley-Hume
with

(a

however

prevailing

undue

the

of

no

standard

on

British

focus);

attention

proper

status

Anglo-American

empiricism

British

emphasis

to

quo.

That includes such things

of

of

heavy

The

particular, has mostly been a very conservative one.

the

movements

main

philosophy,

but

from

emanating

also

the

England,

protective of the Northern status quo;
they are,

recommend

and

this.

just

reinforcement

Oxford

Locke-

approach
the

of

in

influence,

More generally, many of

especially

Moore-Wittgenstein

on

quasi-historical

the

sources;

centred

practice,

ordinary
have

language

been

very

they tend to leave things very much as

the

Positively,

proposal

is

that

we

achieve further disassociation from the Anglo-American empiricist past in two

ways:

by

framework,

emphasizing

and

by

local

projects

diversifying

the

that

move

range

outside

of

constricting

that

philosophical

traditions

selectively drawn upon, to include not only neglected Continental strands and
parts of

Eastern thought,

philosophy.

The

idea

is

but also
that

Pacific ethnic

such a

material and

plurality of

sources,

Australasian

especially

in

teaching, will assist in removing narrower cultural biasses, such as British
parochialism,

and

enable more

discrimination

to

be

obtained.

Then

too we

should be better able to see the ranges of theories that are open to us in the

Antipodes and how to advance our own programs.

34

The point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words and Things, Victor Gollancz,
London, 1959.
But even ordinary language philosophy, though conservative, and
though it much contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations,
had its liberating elements, e.g. removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.
Nor has the social impact changed much with the subsequent decline, since
1959, of ordinary language philosophy, the increasing insolvency of Oxbridge
philosophy, and its consequent limited take-over by right-wing Ivy League
American philosophy. By contrast, the less economically influential growth of
redbrick and applied philosophy in some of the British radical and polytechnic
institutes has touched no more than the surface of Oxbridge practice.

28

There remain some things we should want to see whatever mixes are chosen
One crucial issue is the removal of Northern

in different Antipodean regions.

bias from papers and publications, research seminars and lectures, letters of
This Northern bias is a disposition to cite and discuss

reference, and so on.

the

and

works

of

irrespective

discussion

projects

and

of

quality

the

ignore

to

authors,

Northern
of

their

contribution

works

the

more

the

of

irrespective of the quality of their contribution.

accept

opinions of worth,

their

been

(thus

Influential

philosophers,

under

topic

largely

again

It is

etc.

to uncritically

and

the disposition

to

though work produced locally either does not exist or has

write or lecture as

not

importance,

better,

It is the disposition to

to authors from prestigious Northern institutions,

defer

the

to

authors,

local

the

famous

are,

ensuring

anything,

if

that

it

inclined

more

is

not).

And

Northern

to

Australasian

bias

than

many

overseas intellectuals, who are perhaps less concerned to be seen as belonging
to the Northern mainstream.

bias

effects

not

The reduction, and eventual removal, of Northern

practice

the

only

of

individual

philosophers,

but

the

policies of selection and review committees as well as of editors and referees
of

It

journals.

local

reorientation,

with

innovations

better,

development

-

involves,

among

Antipodean philosophers

things

so

they

that

can

would

cite

be

getting

local

assisted

things,

other

work
by

intellectual

to know local

work and

out

regional

or

point

greater

local

content

in

courses taught, more time spent at local institutions on study leave, and so

on.

APPENDIX 1. Background notes on the philosophy supply situation.

Sociological

investigation of the philosophy labour market in Australia and New Zealand has

yet

to be

attempted.

But a

picture of

some elements

underlying the

numerical argument of the text can be gained from the following table:

simple

29

TABLE 1. Ph.Ds in Philosophy: a USA - Australasian comparison

USA
Number (Male/Female)

Australia

New Zealand

1974

413 (346/67)

6

0

1975

375 (318/57)

5

0

1976

382 (319/63)

8

0

1977

330 (264/66)

3

2 (1/1)

1978

283 (235/43)

5

5 (4/1)

1979

285 (204/54)

9

3 (2/1)

1980

246 (187/59)

4

N. A.

1981

N.A.

4

0

Notes:
1. The breakdown of the USA and New Zealand numbers by sexes (male/female) is
given.
Similar figures do not appear to be available for Australia.
2.
The US figures are. for the academic year ending in the Year shown, e.g.
1978 covers the Northern academic year 1977-78. Southern figures are for the
calendar year shown.

Sources: Digest of Education Statistics, US National Center for
Education Statistics; University Statistics, Australian Bureau of
Census Statistics; New Zealand Education Statistics.

Comments:
1.
The contraction of US doctoral production and the concomitant rise in
female representation, are clearly indicated.
The Australian figures are
likely too small to reflect such trends and responses to the academic market.
2.
Some of the Australasian numbers include Americans; likewise the American
figures provide no nationality breakdown.
3.
There is no information available on the number of Australians proceeding
to higher degrees in philosophy outside Australia.

In applying table 1 some simplifying assumptions are made.
assumed

that

candidates

for appointment

For example, it is

to regular university positions now

would have a doctorate or the equivalent (until recently a B.Phil was taken as
a

near

well).

equivalent

It

is

of

a

assumed,

North

what

American
seems

to

Ph.D.;
take

publications

the

case,

that

serve

as

the number

of

could

30

Australasians proceeding to higher degrees in philosophy abroad is relatively
small, and no more than the order of Ph.Ds. taken locally.

It can be assumed,

without upsetting applications of table 1, that Australasian graduates match,
say, the upper half of American graduates in standard attained.

There is no compiled information on academic vacancies in philosophy in

Australia or New Zealand - on the numbers of vacancies, on how the positions
It would however be a routine,

are filled, by what nationalities, sexes, etc.
if

matter

tedious

some of

assemble

to

data,

this

is of considerable

which

relevlance to the planning of philosophy programs.

APPENDIX 2.

On the earlier

considering

the

Editor

of

the

idea of a National

of

possibility

initial

German distinction

a

National

AJPP distinguished

two

between Weltanschauung

and

Philosophy for Australia.
Philosophy’,

the

(Australian)

corresponding

senses

In

Lebensanchauung’

to

(p.292).

'the

In

the first, that of ’a scheme of the universe’, ’an Australian Philosophy is as

as

ridiculous

confirmation
prejud ices’.

Holland,

personal’

Science’.

falsification,

or

Granted:

fostered, etc .,
in

Christian

a

’are

The

is

argument

of

independent

truth,

that

national

and

sympathies

its
or

but that does not mean that a theory may not be held,

in one region but not others, as intuitionism was for long in

or

way,

Cartesianism

’a

nation

in

France.

like

an

In

a

second

individual

may

’more

develop

intimate
a

and

certain

temperamental attitude to the problems of existence, which we may ... call its

philosophy of life.

A nation’s philosophy,

like its art and its literature,

is a mode of expression for the national consciousness.

form of
evolving

the national genius
national

culture.

....’
But,

(pp.292-3).

in

the

first

It is,
place,

It is a specialised

in short,

this

is

part of the

by no means

entirely separate from the initial sense, a philosophy comprising not merely a

fairly comprehensive theory but also an integrated set of attitudes (like an

31

operational paradigm).

Furthermore, only by concession are such items as ’the

national consciousness’

and 'the Australian landscape’

of

meriting

definite

Australian

descriptors.

literature, has many strands to it,

accounted single units

philosophy,

Australian

like

some not particularly distinctive (in any

sense): such things form rather loose families.

Editor

The

does

not

find,

does

not

really

hope

to

in

find

’a modern

industrialised community’ - with its modular parts interchangeable with those

of

others - a

claims

find

to

and

courage

a

fair

trite

life,

with a difference.

build

on

(’traditions

but nothing at all

distinctive.

philosophy of

national

moral

dealing’),

base

to

In fact

... of

humour,

So far,

be a national philosophy, at least of life, but is not;

there can

he

then,

this does

not however exclude there being various regional philosophies (such as local

research programs).

plunged
that

into

’if

So

far,

inconsistency:

then,
the

all is well.

trouble

derives

But shortly

from the

the Editor is

extravagant claim

Australia has nothing to do with these - the eternal values of the

Spirit, the Ideals of Truth, Goodness and Beauty - then and only then has she
nothing to do with Philosophy’

(p.295; with rearrangement).

But, as Australia

has nothing per se to do with these - as is virtually conceded, these values

involving a 'wider sweep’
do

with Philosophy,

Though

the

than any national boundaries - "she" has nothing to

contradicting the

contradiction

is

easily

possibility of

avoided

by

a National

Philosophy.

the

extravagant

rescinding

claim, the ideal of a National Philosophy should be allowed to rest in peace:

nationalism has had its time.

32

R. Routley35
Research School of Social Sciences

Australian National University

35

With thanks to R. Elliot, W. Godfrey-Smith, S. Grave and L. Mirlin, to
several members of the audience at the presentation of the paper at the 1983
Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference, University of Adelaide, to
several referees for this Journal, and, not least, to the present Editor.

t

•r

■

PROSPECTS FOR REGIONAL PHILOSOPHIES IN AUSTRALASIA

Philosophy, especially academic philosophy but also folk philosophy, like

other intellectual and higher cultural activity in Australasia, has long been
dominated,

indeed

Europe, now

the

largely

swamped,

by

Northern

Given

increasingly from North America.

cultural

and

other

baggage

the

imported,

influences,

initially

the migration

patterns,

composition

ethnic

resulting ruling populations, such a result was virtually inevitable.
does not have to stay that way.

from

of

the

But it

Suitable policies, a good philosophy policy,

could change things.

thought

The

of

a

is hardly a new one.

culture,

In 1923, a

matching

perhaps

philosophy,

regional

regional

a

New Zealand correspondent to the

newly-launched Australasian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy mentioned the
possibility of ’a new kind or temper of philosophy under these southern skies’

which

the

such a

reaching

Journal might

role

(or,

not

community).

for

merely

And

that

matter,

professional

although

however hardly

The Journal has

foster.1

actively

philosophers

some things

solid foundation for a new regionalism

its

pursued

have changed

pronounced aim

wider

a

but

in Australia,

in philosophy,

and

temper of

southern skies were intended

distinctively

1AJPP, March

same volume,
Appendix 2.

New

Zealand

1923, p.74.
p.292.ff;

his

philosophy under
to

include:

but

characteristics,

The

question was

discussion

is

laying

a

that possibility of a

New Zealan

few distiri

have

of

Australasian

new temper of philosophy has hardly been realised. There is
of a new kind

fulfilled

shown

up

le in the way
ies, which

the

y features,

’ no

in

New

Zealand

taken up by the Editor in the

considered

below,

especially

in

2
7

philosophy’.

New Zealand remains a substantial net importer of philosophy,

The situation of colonial dominance that used to prevail in

and philosophers.

Australia,

where

virtually

chairs,

all

and

many

philosophy, were filled by academics from the North,

power and influence of professors in small departments,

and

covered

considered

and

in

tends to persist in New

Zealand, where no established chairs are occupied by locals.2
3

topics

posts

academic

other

Given the usual

in courses designed,

especially appointments

made,

the

heavy

Northern orientation of philosophy taught and researched in New Zealand is not

The Northern control is perhaps most strikingly exhibited at the

surprising.

oldest

of

New

Zealand

universities,

the

University

of

Otago,

where

the

Philosophy Department has been substantially captured by a British School and

increasingly

looks

event,

the

like an offshoot of

overwhelming Anglo-American

the University of London.4
dominance

of

New Zealand

In any

philosophy

also a feature only in slightly lesser degree of Australian philosophy - can

be confirmed

by a content survey of the courses offered and research papers

written at New Zealand universities.

Even when local people have been appointed

to positions in Australasia,

they have been brought up on a solid diet of Anglo-American material, and they

have often been reforged or finished in the North as well.

*
In particular, the

2
S.A. Grave, A History of Philosophy in Australia, Queensland University
Press, 1983, p.l. Page references are to the manuscript.
The paper draws
heavily on this history.
3

This claim was correct at the
1983).
With the recent loss of
qualification, but the pattern of
4In the 1983

presentation of the paper (August
Wellington, the claim may require
mination persists.

Commonwealth University Handbook listing, 6 of the 8 members of

the Department held their main degree, Ph.D., from -the London/?and one of the
remainder from. Exeter).
Only one member of the Department, soon to retire,
falls outside me nexus.

3

requirements of

the Australasian universities

in the major

period of

post­

World War II expansion were conveniently seen to in the case of philosophy by

Many

degree.

B.Phil.

the Oxford

of

departments

philosophy

remain full

of

products of this cultural mill: indeed until the mid 70s candidates finished
in Oxford were hard to beat out when they applied for positions, such was the

prestige of Oxford and

(unwarranted)

the regrettable,

but still

continuing,

"cultural cringe".

Nonetheless,

in

been occurring

scene

will

(as

despite

the

Northern

the Antipodes,

be

especially on

indicated).

significant

dominance,

worth

is

It

changes

have

the Australian philosophical

asking

whether

Australian

philosophy is moving towards the sort of change that occurred in USA more than
100 years ago when the Harvard Philosophy Department was brought (or bought)

together,

its "golden

and

age" began.American philosophy was never quite

the same again, and became its own thing.

There are now new forces operating

which could help to move Australian philosophy in such a direction.
the

widespread

emergence,

particularly

in

alternative

There is

culture,

of

choice

along

a

new

£

which

regionalism,
other

choices;

local

fashioning
provides

applies

of

a

national

model

for

and

to

in

cultural
stark

science
reflection

and

in

and

ideological

contrast,
technology
regional

there

policies,
philosophy

directly bears on parts of the philosophy of science.

soon appear,

there are

also some

is

serious obstacles

the

with

centralised

which

not

only

policy

but

also

Unfortunately, as will

to regional

philosophies

and to the very idea of a regional philosophy.

^See B. Kuklick, The Rise of American Philosophy; Cambridge, Massachusetts
1860-1930, Yale University Press, 1977, Parts 2 and 3.

On this bio-regionalism, see especially, Fourth World News, vol. 1,
and K. Sale, Human Scale, Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, New York, 1980.

1983,

USA, long an importer of culture from Europe, has recently become a net

components

of

philosophical

following

not

culture,

taken).

suit,

should

evidently

but

Are

reasons

there

achieve

not

also

the gAmerican

(witness

philosophy

has

Oxford

from

output

lower

of

such as

higher culture

if

Australasia,
balance of

certainly

culture,

of

exporter

a

better

turn
why

cultural

Yes, there are reasons.

payments, especially in philosophy?

of

In

the first place, the change in the cultural position of the USA went with, and

perhaps in part derived

economic

of

most

dominance

entails

Australasia’s

changes in economic power relations.

from, vast

there is

cultural dominance,

culture,

there

since

is

little prospect

serious

no

prospect

If
for

that

Australasia will ever emulate or attain American economic eminence (at least

not without nuclear destruction of

the North,

flow of commodities, cultural and other).
universities

not only

increasingly

of

of

contingent

Americans,

former

group,

Northern cultural

they.

As

priorities,

a

they

also

component
include

whose

research

of

Northern academics,

substantial

a

and

teaching

additional

is

bent

to

It is unlikely that this influential segment, especially
(become so

will

commitments,

long

entire

Secondly, as observed, Antipodean

large

fellow-travellers,

Northern concerns.
the

contain

and disruption of the

as

apart

Antipodeans

they are in a bind

locally acclimatised

do

from the
not

situation;

isolated

drastically

as

to)

give up

Nor

person.

alter

their

its

should

cultural

for it can be persuasively argued

that they would be better off, as far as quality and product goes, stocking
their universities with American teaching components and researching American-

oriented concerns.

One

simple

numerical

argument

that

Antipodean

universities

would

be

better off with Americans in the main, takes the following lines:- The (higher
degree)

graduates

of

Australasian

culturally distinguished,

and

American

are

not

significantly

at least in subjects such as philosophy.

Consider

now

number

the

of

quality

Austroamerican graduates;

academics

produced

of

per number

degree

higher

say there is 1 per every n graduates.

The (great)

preponderance of graduates will be Americans, just by virtue of their vastly
greater population and their more extensive system of university education.7

So also then, just by ratio considerations, the great preponderance of quality
academics

from an

drawn

upper percentiles among

they

interested

universities.

Austroamerican base

an

Such

would

argument

appointing

be

does

not

as will

Clearly, Antipodeans,

those quality products.

quality,

in

will be American,

work

to

more
show

Americans
that,

for

to

the

were

their

similar

reasons, American universities should be full of Chinese or Indian professors,
for

two

Asians

reasons;
and

first

Americans,

there

are

especially

significant

in

cultural differences

disciplines

such

as

between

philosophy;

and

secondly, their university systems do not deliver such great quotas of higher

degree or high quality graduates, at least in philosophy.

The conclusion of the numerical argument will not be a popular one.

anti-Americanism felt

the

universities;

The

in portions of the Australasian community extends into

and

recently

there

has

been

increasing

insistence,

especially by the now aging younger Turks that university positions should be
reserved for locals.

This at the same time as these Turks often preach of an

international community of scholars,

presumably then with "free" interchange,

As indicated in Appendix 1, whereassumptions made in the argument are
.
defended, the ratio of US philosophy graduates with doctorates as compared
with Australian exceeds 30 to 1.
And, as is weM-known, the extent of
university education is much greater
in USA than! in Australasia: indeed
Australia is in this respect
among the worst edlated of the developed
nations, as OECD figures have made plain (see, e.g. Jb. Jones, Sleepers Wake^^
Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, Chapter

I
I
J
/
>

6

etc.

They cannot have it all ways.3

So

long

continues,

the

present

centre

will

as

the

dominate

they will have more

economically;

them if

large to

free-flow

than us,

and

and

culturally

periphery

the

ideas

of

interchange

personnel
well

as

as

should go by and

jobs here

(centrally-determined) quality in this high cultural

it is

business that we seek, as mostly claim.

Now

anyway,

it

is

there

that

arguments.

For

enough

widely

is

we are

recognised,

something
not

lower-down

drastically

wrong

hierarchical
with

these

ladders
sorts

of

flooded with high-quality Northerners who would

regularly drive out local contenders for positions,

if we only preferred the

Northerners when they were quite visibly superior: rather we are inundated by

Americans with inflated references, who have the messages of the centre better

than

locals

echelon

do,

(often

and

remote Northern fields tend

Northern

biassed)

appointment

to look greener to higher-

committees

than

dusty

locals

As is beginning to be recognised too,

whose shortcomings are known better.

the Northern centres tend to retain their higher-quality products, and allow

them

to

be

exiled

to

the

periphery

only

if

they

somehow fall

foul

of

system (e.g. of the academic system for political or personal reasons).

8A reverse flow of the better or

the

Too

//K

odox academics from Australasia to A Leica
should also be expected (outside
mes of university contraction).
Acci yrding
_____d
argument, which is based on labour] larket
to assumptions of this brain
considerations, appointment and lifestyle conditions for academics arej etter
in USA than Australia and much better than those in economically—depressed New
jhejr salaries, better standard of living, superio
Zealand (e.g. high'
research
conditions, etc.)
things being £equal, able academic
from the
Antipodes will rel;||jBate in USA as academic positions become avai
ble.
The
argument also help^^xplain why Antipodean ui 'versifies cannot ex
:, for the
most part, to attract really top-drawer Nojrt
Nortl srners for very long.'T' Of course,
economically
illy irrelevant
irrele
factors do in^Tu®
interference; e.g.
perverse
t«gTua
itsl to oddJball Antipodean intellectual enterprises which reduce
commitment
-ceLtabilit*^ or pre-industrial ties to place or persons or lifestyle
market acc
which imsmulaiS-y
L_ _ restrict mobility (such as local roots, family attachments, even
distaste for American urban lifestyles).

7

often

Northern

the

centres

have

disposed of

intellectually

their

inferior

products in the periphery.

All this makes the

especially Americans,

Northerners,

appointing

position look doubly bad. We ought, it seems, to be
even

if they are overrated

their references, and usually not out of the top drawer,

And yet

quality.

in

in order to maximize

doing so does not achieve the desired quality result, and

breeds discontent elsewhere, especially among the aging Turks.

Fortunately

there

obtain

cultural

sufficient

subtitutable for us.

we

before

from this awkward

and that is the way of regionalism.

shaky arguments;

and

way out

is a

elaborate

distance,so

that

situation and

these

We do our own things;
they

are

not

simply

Then the shaky numerical argument does fall down.

the

emerging

proposal

there

are

other

But

influential

arguments to dispose of, and the disposal bears on the proposal.

to begin with,

There is,
have so

far been conceded:

the argument for excellence,

that

excellence, which we all more or

elements of which

there is an objective commodity, quality or
less agree

about, which is proportionately

more abundant in the North, and which is what academic institutions crave and

seek and what appointments aim to capture, indeed maximize.

That at least is

the type of myth most of us have encountered; and many of us now know it is a

myth,

in

fact

appointments
profit, but

a

that

dangerous

way,

rather seek

any

myth.

more

Most

that

places

don’t

organisations

aim

even

try

just

to

to

make

maximize

to satisfice on a mix of factors, of which assessed

quality is only one, and not often the highest ranking one.

Ability to fit

^This is easier in the cultural than the technological sphere.

However it

is
also
possible technologically:
(stronger)
theses of
technological
determinism, and so of cultural determinism, are false.
We can choose
different options, technologically, as well as culturally.

8

into some sort of program, teaching or research, is another, and commonly more
important factor;

is no good reason why such a program should not

and there

sometimes be a regionally oriented one.

So given prevailing practices,

the

And,

argument from excellence does not exclude regional philosophy programs.

in any event, there are enough local candidates of sufficient worth to proceed

with

regional

programs

clearcut

without

of/ excellence.

sacrifice

Local

Jl
enterprise need entail no loss of excellence, and could increase it.

A
The deeper-cutting
with

idea

the

objection is that there is something seriously amiss

objective

of

objective

importance;

criticism

as

bracketed

out

notions
the

that

excellence,
these

with

more

values

contextual—relativisation

a

rather

generally,

component

paradigm,

intellectual

narrow

the

to

framework or viewpoint to which these values relate.10
within

connected

the

open

are

notions

objective

of

and

of

sorts

of

same

they

that

of

notion

have

the

valuing:

While those operating

as

such

Oxbridge

ordinary

language philosophy or Sydney materialism say, can bracket out the viewpoint,
since

it

is

incorporated

in

the

operational

paradigm,

and

so

arrive

at

seemingly objective quality judgements, the judgements are not preserved (e.g.

in

truth

Marxist

value)

when

viewpoints.

transposed
Consider,

to

for

other

frameworks,

comparison,

the

e.g.

idealistic

judgements

as

to

or
the

quality or worth of a forest^made variously by a deep ecologist, an industrial
forester, and a recreational officer.

a

holistically-inclined

Marxist,

and

philosophers

Californian
who

pretend

Compare judgements as to the quality of

philosopher,

environmental

environmental

that

such

by

philosophers.

environmental

work

language,

ordinary

There
cannot

are

be

even

judged,

hat follows also> Begins to bring out what is omitted in a main theme of
R.S.JPirsig, _______
Zen and __
,
d/e
Art
Motor Cycle Maintenance, Bodley H^lad , London,
__ of
— ---— the notion of objective excellence doe
, Note that defSwring
not lead to
ivism.
To avoid the customary false dichotomy, compare
e notion of
validity (usually ceded to themselves these days by classical lo cians).

cw

9

seemingly because

it

of the main philosophical

by members

is not done

peer

group at Harvard and like institutions.

As this

begins

the

of

judgements

to

reveal, judgements

importance

work

of

of quality are not independent of

done

or

problems

tackled.

importance of problems and issues is highly paradigm dependent.

the

But

For example,

problems suet/ as those of quantifying-in and of possible worlds and of de re
thought^ ^ich assume immense

importance for fashionable referential theories

within the mainstream empiricist paradigm, vanish to relative insignificance
outside

that

restricted viewpoint.

that most

Now observe

judgements as

to

what are the important problems and what constitutes important work - matters

helping determine quality - are shipped down from the North.

Their importance

is relative to their paradigmatic placement, and the paradigms concerned are

exported to the Antipodes through the main channels already indicated.

We are

free to reject these paradigms and select alternatives, and there are, it can
be argued,

good reasons

choose different
that

generally

energy

favoured

just that, much as

to do

technology
the

in

(or different
the

which

North

there are good reasons to

military technology)

North

is

eager

to

from

export

southwards.

Similar

which

might

argument,

points

apply

against

alternatively

that

be

sophisticated

mass-produced

and

cosmopolitan.

The argument

'cosmopolitan subject’,

called

people

-marketed

the

from

is based

cosmopolitan/international
the

Peter

everywhere
Holland;

Stuyvesant

smoke

this

argument

international

superior

product

cigarette-sophistication

is

on the assumption that philosophy is a

that is is not the sort of enterprise for which place

10

and

people

are

as

significant

they

are

for

poetry

or

that philosophy

important thing,

is a finished product of a certain

sort (a propositional theory), not a process of production also.

process of production the place and people involved (e.g.
material.

And

and

literature,

the

if

not

since

no

philosophy,

format,

12

than

more

work

a

like

theorems

just

internationally-approved

is

product

The

novel.

It takes for granted,

assumption has only to be presented to be questioned.
for one

the

and

of

art,

But in the

in discussion) are

like

a

piece

assembled

arguments

in

of
an

then again the historical setting matters,
literature,

does

not

emerge

in

a

vacuum.

Plato’s philosophy could not have emerged in ancient Australia, and if cribbed

&
13
in mid 20th century Oxford would surely have been marked down or rejected.
It

is

important not

to be

sidetracked into issues -

resembling problems

in

aesthetics - that do not need to be contested, such as whether and what extent

sets of themes and arguments produced in one place and setting could have been
produced in another. A nonnuclear technology of some sort could be adopted in
Europe but apparently will not be, whereas there is reasonable prospect that

New

Zealand,

strategy.

^Grave,

in

It is

contrast

with

the doing,

op.cit.,

p.2:

Australia,

will

and not what could

the

term

pursue

a

be done,

’cosmopolitan subject’

nonnuclear

energy

that matters here.

used

there

comes

from Donegan.
As to the significance of place and people for literature, see
further C. Partridge, The Making of New Cultures, Editions Rodopi, Amsterdam,
1982.

xz,Like a paper in the biological sciences.
But here again technique
methodology, which may both be regional, are crucially important.

1 3 Related

and

points can be made using less extreme examples, e.g. concerning
modern American work.
Consider, for instance such texts as W.V. Quine’s Word
and Object, (Wiley, New York, 1960) or R. Nozick*s Anarchy, State and Utopia
(Basic Books, New York, 1974).
The assumptions taken for granted, the
arguments involved, etc., are especially American: it is not just the style.
The acceptability of arguments and positions is dependent on place and
received paradigm.

11

logic,

Dialethic

which

invalidates

Anglo-American philosophy,

the

could perhaps

technique

and

methodology

of

in the North (though

be done

much

there

would be substantial cultural resistance): it is not being done there, and is

not

likely

Antipodeans
techniques,

to

be

in

choose

can

do

done

the
their

Anglo-American
own

their own distinctive

sphere.^

distinctive

thing.

The

To

technology

this

extent,

and

logical

international/cosmopolitan

argument, stated in a form that would be telling, fails.

Of course

it can be argued,

it is being argued,

that Antipodeans don’t

need to be, or even oughtn’t to be pursuing their own energy or logic policies

and apparatus.

But meeting these considerations takes us to a whole new set

of issues concerning the merit of various policies and programs, the point of
diversity, etc. - far beyond the cosmopolitan argument.

The new arguments, to

which we shall return, are not a lot more convincing however than comparable

arguments

concerning

cooking:

that

we don’t

devising our own cuisine or wine styles.

need

to

be or

oughtn’t

to

be

British, or at least cosmopolitan,

cooking is adequate: we should stick to that and buy it off the shelf from the

North,

ideally importing

the cooks also.

Do we

that British philosophy is

have good

reasons to

think

than British cooking?

Antipodeans are free^in principle^ then,

to pursue their own paradigms;

and to do so they will by and large want to, and mostly have to, appoint their

own people, people they have educated - not saboteurs or people who have (had )
to

be

re-educated,

from el

where,

in

particular from the North.

But

will

•^Much as co
communities
the extreme

nist anarchism, a live possibility for communes and perhaps
Australia, is culturally excluded in North America, owing to
ndividualism of that culture.

On dialethic logic, see G. Priest and R. Routley, On Paraconsistency,
Research Papers in Logic, #13, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian
National University, 1983.

12

paradigms^, tie

their intellectual

of

features

the

cultur

local

though works of

with cultural

In a loose way,

philosophy wi

not usually

with

paradigms,

least,

at

distinctive

they may link,

tie in with the culture in

the

_______
____ z sometimes
distinct
from_______________
more technical works)

integral fashion that novels

A> a. /sn-X'etL
do.^ Grave considers certain cultural features, not restricted to particular

programs,

philosophical

Australian product’

help

that

in

philosophy

Australia

as

’ an

- ’unimportant though this is compared with what matters

But style, acceptability, truth, do matter,

in philosophy' he hastens to add.
and are

mark

not independent - or independent so far as their perception goes in

the case of truth and correctness15 - from underlying broad theory or received
paradigm.

However the marks Grave cautiously advances, significant though they are,

do

not

features

serve

to

distinguish

the

philosophy

Australian

Australian

exhibits

in

the

product,
lesser

degree

adventurous and polemical philosophy of Greek antiquity.
by Passmore as

'most

typical

first

two

than

the

being
more

The first, described

of Australian philosophy’,

is

a ’diversity of

approach and readiness to put forward an unconventional or unfashionable point

view',1^

of

philosophy,

something
which

more

(with

typical
some

of

notable

ancient

philosophy

exceptions)

than

exhibits

uniformity reflecting that often attributed to the land itself.

Australian
an

austere

The second,

15Nothing need be conceded to
trong cultural relativity themes,
ough they
would support the case
L Iia L tour
'/is enough that
theories remain radically
_ y bei
incomplete and that there/^/^n accordingly
b
rival theories as
what is
is
true.
Similarly, however^
phy is j concaved ~as the sea
or truth,
seian/Mrore, really), or a
explanation, uifierstanding^
these
inquiry of a
certain sort^Fthere can bez45^will be
be, ^/competing accounts; so a pluralistic
theory is inevitable in giving a fuller view.
1

Both preceding quotations, while included as such in Grave’s Introduction,
are from J. Passmore, ’Philosophy', in The Pattern of Australian Culture (ed.
A.L. McLeod), Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y., 1963, pp.131-168.
The
same annotation also applies to the third mark.

Ke
surprising,

more

and

’the

philosophy,

Wittgensteinian

mark

most

notable

political

extraordinary

by

discussed

Andersonian

itself’

(p.2).

...

being

This

the

example

is

line-up

it

was

far

from

if

Sydney,

Australian

between
the

not

isolated:

them concern the fervour generated by "Australian materialism",

others among
the

..

example

and

Melbourne

Andersonian philosophy

of

character’

Grave),

engagement

and

by some philosophy departments

confrontation

growing

the

(both

concerning

the

relevant/paraconsistent program, with the local (’adversarial’) style leading
to

criticism by

sharp

Americans.

with

Connected

these

firs

two marks

are .

—■--------------- ------

furthe
part.

of much

characteristics

Australian

Aiilosophy y(^ho

for

hat influenced by jSydney rather than originating in Melb

the most
namely

directness, unwillingne
to muffle points, surface clarity
/occj/
unkindly add,
untne
, unsubtjety and crudity.> The third and
t
A
fourth marks
as Grave i
effect notes, hardly distinguishing features of

Australian philosophy.
areas,

is

third, which applies well

to other

intellectual

the contrast of the Australian reputation in philosophy indeed of

Australia as
national

The

a ’center of philosophical inquiry’, with the anti-intellectual

stereotype

achievement

Australians

than

rather

especially a

of

feature

of

as

intellectual

to

a

people

subtlety’.

Anglo-American philosophy;

’devoted

The

namely

physical

to

fourth

the

mark

is

isolation of

academic philosophy in Australasia from, and its general indifference or even
hostility to,

the sort of imported philosophy (e.g.

that of Nietzsche and the

existentialists) generating interest in literary and arts circles.

The
philosophy

failure

does

of

not

marks

such

matter.

sufficiently separated

by its

For

to

adequately

one

thing,

separate

the

research projects.

out

Australian

For another,

Australian

produce

is

regionalism

should not be confused with nationalism, nor more regional positions such as

Sydneyside

materialism

or

Wellington

modalism

with

national

philosophies.

14

as in mojjt other things,

Nationalism in philoso^iy,
to

not

be encouragedand the new regionalism

is an undesirable trait,

is linked,

in other

cultural

things, with the breakdown of nations and contraction of state power.

*

To get

back

*

*

to where we were:

*

*

the emerging

proposal

is

this, that we

start - or better much increase - doing our own distinctive things, and that

we

team up

to do

In fact

so.

there are

several suggestions

that begin

to

emerge, concerning research and teaching, publications and appointments, study

leave and sponsored visitors. These are not just that we do our own selection
of

topics

and

people,

and

style

and

methods,

decide

instead of having these foisted upon us - not just,

our

own

priorities,

that is, that we play our

own games (whether invented here or taken over from the North) and not theirs,
Rules and Rugby instead of Gridiron and Basketball - but that we abandon the

individual competitive model of cultural achievement,

sold to us and fostered

by the North, in favour of a group cooperative approach (elements of which are

already modelled in Antipodean social clubs).

The thoughts here are simple and familiar.

digging example:

it is well-known that two people cooperating can dig a ditch

more rapidly and enjoyably

17

See, e.g.,
London, 1957.

On the one side is the ditch­

Sale,

than two

op.cit.,

people working on the ditch separately.

and L. Kohr,

The

Breakdown

of Nations,

RKP,

The Editor of the new 1923 AJPP did however take seriously the notion of
National Philosophy, of (what must have surprised some New Zealand readers) an
Australian Philosophy; some of the issues there raised (p.292ff) are addressed
in Appendix 2.

15

Cooperative work tends to pay off - in philosophy or elsewhere - in terms of
output, quality,

and enjoyment

in the doing.

On the other side, experience

shows that we in the periphery cannot individually complete very successfully

with the centre on achievements in their programs.

predominantly individualistic

the

in

Despite the highly competitive

One is the communication situation.

for this.

attainment

nature of

results

of

depends

There are several reasons

American academic enterprise,much

upon

verbal

rapid

and

communication

For, despite the individualism myth, work is

access to unpublished material.

jointly based, and builds on the work of manyji^hen the time is ripe for some
idea or result,

several clever people will be able to hit on it.

communications are

nationalistic

important

considerations

in obtaining rapid

(e.g.

Poles

tend

publication of

to

promote

Then again

the

Polish

idea or

results,

Russians will cite a Russian who achieves a result at about the same time as

an outsider).

There

face-to-face seminars

fact of

when

limited

read

they

is the fact that much is conveyed verbally and through

so that

and that

reading,

on

local results will be conveyed.

material

from

people at

the

the centre

centre

by

There is the

tend to concentrate

central

people,

so

that

published items and results from the periphery will often not be noticed, and
may

well

lose

publication.
receive,

18

merit

out
There

to
is

central

also

for merit,

competitors

the

more

fact

that

publication

even

if

people

they

at

the

achieve
centre

and communication

central

tend

to

opportunities

Reflecting other features of the culture and enterprise of the centre
which are not so deeply embedded in Australasia: see further R. Routley,
’Culture,
philosophy,
and
approaches to
the natural
environment - an
Australian perspective’,
in The
Environment,
Ethics and
Ecology
(Ed.
D. Bennett), The Faculties, Australian National University, 1984, and also
’Culture and the roots of political divergence: the Australian/American
contrast’, typescript, Canberra, 1983;
both referred to subsequently as
’Culture’ .

16

than people towards the periphery.
the

size

and

Here economic factors do begin to enter;,

distribution of the academic market

e.g., a great

(there are,

many more academic phzilosophe s in North America than in the whole rest of the
world), control of

outlets and journalj^ (with few exceptions all

Northern)^etc.

economic

power

does

and

not,

not,

need

determine culture - we can shut off the Northern philosophical propaganda in
much the way we shut off our television sets if we really want to.

stop being

impressed by

And we can

those philosophical middle-men who make a living by

importing the Northern stuff.

So what do we do? We adapt to the cultural-philosophical level,

several

h
of those things, that have been suggested in the regionalism.

We aim at some

A

regional

importers

awakening
and

doctrines and

and

local

imitators

positions

of,

from

self-reliance.

and

local

the North.

We

do

commentators
For

on

example ,

we

slavish

remain

not

and

peddlars

don’t

spend

of,
our

academic lives trying to tease out what Davidson or Dummett or Kripke meant by

this

or that

through.

To

in the hope that
be

sure,

I

am

some pale Northern light will perhaps
not

suggesting

that

emulate

the

filter

appalling

17

But,

des xLte

having

been

given

sufficient

cause,

we

shouldn’t

cut

ourselves off 'from Northern paradigms and influences (we could hardly manage

A

anyway).

to

We

A
traditions:

use

what

we

need

these

from

continuing

o we should stay informed of, but not imitators of, or part of,

In

enterprises.

their

reasonably

can

just as

Northern traditions,
from cutting

from

loose

case,

any

regional

are

rooted

in

the people are largely European stock.

these

traditions and

(and likely minority) traditions,

these older

cultures

older

So far

starting afresh from nowhere,
and the

local variations

that

have already appeared are what we want to develop and perhaps mutate, as again
with wine styles.

of

Part

the

proposal

then

is

that

encourage and develop our own

things,

Antipodean paradigms,

Northern

paradigms.

rather
It

we

research programs,

very great
Nor,
the

locaY

and so shape nefer

is not as

if we have to build from nothing,

to do

to try to create cultural

For there are research programs already initiated, which have the

advantage of

fortunately,
future

our own

than working with pale northern reflections of

- what is very difficult - entirely original work,

components.

do

increasingly

is

being grounded

in features of the larger culture.

do we need to make the story up - though helping to shape

part of what the

Australia - New Zealand

proposal is

about.

Much of

is a different and more difficult

already indicated in Grave’s survey of Australian philosophy.

the story,

for

proposition -

is

All one really

has to do is to bring out programs he has already indicated and provide some

elaboration and commentary.
level,

I shall

To pull the investigation down to a more concrete
fooyxizci/li/esketch some more prominent programs - by no means the only

A
programs - and remark on some relevant features of them.

19 See Culture, op.cit.

18

The longest running and best known program is, without much doubt,
of

Australian

naturalism,

and

which

aims

see

to

the

that

world,

natural

and

everything else, as suitably encompassed within the framework of the world of

science.

(physical)

The

as

generally

is

subprogram Sydney materialism,

a major

Adelaide which subsequently died out there.

such

famous

components

central

state

version

of

failures

in

to

Anderson’s

functionalism

and

nowadays

like

Faced

reduction

in

The latter program has included

takes

all

now

it

plans,

it

It

program initiated

a

identity theme

as the mental-material contingent

materialism,

its

back

traced

and is now best exhibited in Armstrong’s work.

empiricist metaphysics,

contains

program

and

more derivatively,

in,

with

physicalisms

incorporates

a

conspicuous

"scientifically"

a

trimmed theory of universals, and an account/of natural laws as relations of

universals, both components of the develop®®^ Sydney reali
naturalism program,

sm.

Parts of the

especially materialism and central state reductionism and

the unified science ideal, have had counterparts in the North, but the program
l^s, for the most part, retained its distinctively Austr^/ian character

/(“despite export efforts, it never caught on in New Zealand^7 The program fits
smoothly, moreover,

and

earthy,

so

into Australian culture.

far as

It is similarly down-to-earth,

philosophy can be, without

the fancy

ideas or effete

idealism of European philosophy or the spirituality and suppressed puritanism

with

which

pragmatism).

commitments,

much

of

And
and

North
yet

though

it
it

American

does

thinking

not

shrink

(including

simmers
from

is basically empiricist,

explicit

it

is not

nowadays,

metaphysical
positivistic

(rejecting a verification principle, in particular).

20

Anderson’s metaphysics was however far more opposed to reductions than
what has succeeded it. For an account of Anderson’s philosophy, and a history
and account
op.cit.

of Australian naturalism and materialism,

see especially Grave,

19

It

is

a

city

program,

based

broadcast

from

mainly

the University

of

Sydney to other metropolitan universities; but the program does extend outside
the universities a bit (a tiny bit) to the larger metropolitan culture.

North America,

the broader

Russell,

so in Australasia, little professional philosophy impinges on

community,

Popper

and

21

naturalism

program

Perth, and

has outliers

from notable

used

even on
being

quite

would

be

or

Kuhn

Australasia

Apart

As in

to

an

the wider academic community,

exceptional.

achievement,

stretch

through

one

(To

turn

worth

to Adelaide;

in

around

this

working

work by

for.)

The

it now reaches

to

in Canberra, as well as a core of opposition there.

exceptions,

the program has never had the

more than a rather precarious hold,

same hold,

or

nor, more surprisingly,

in Melbourne:

has it had heavyweight criticism from there (or indeed much external criticism

from elsewhere),

out.

the old confrontation of major city philosophies having died

Melbourne philosophy

is more historically oriented

stricken than Sydney; Melbourne
dominated

Continental
philosophy;

by

a

procession

philosophy;
then,

a

of

more

remarkable

and more

religion

philosophy, much more than Sydney, has

Northern
recently,

turnabout,

fashions:

earlier

Wittgenstein,
Quine,

idealism

ordinary

Davidson

and

been
and

language

extensional

reduction; now perhaps Lewis, Kripke and Dummett?

21

In Canada, for example, while most academics from other disciplines would
know of, and perhaps a little about, Russell, far fewer would know of
Wittgenstein (though he is becoming known to lit. crit. groups), and virtually
none would know of Quine.
(The sampling is subjective.)
On the fairly recent ’triumph of professionalism’ in philosophy in USA, see
Kuklick, op.cit., p.565ff.
Kuklick brings out well some of the more
disastrous features of professionalism, but does not sufficiently notice that
the virtuous
features
resulting
from
some
professionalisation can be

synthesized with broader philosophical activity.
22

The exceptions Include Ellis’s distinctive program, which can be accounted
part of the broader naturalist program, and at Monash the work of F. Jackson
and, earlier, of H. Munro in value theory.

20

one

The

reaches

that

program

beyond

the

of

confines

the

cities

in

Australia - which is after all a metropolitan dominated culture, the vast land

always

the other

being

Australian environmentalism,

is

-

a rather

diffuse

program, which has connections with the Colleges of Advanced Education in the
country towns and the communes on the North Coast.

So far the program is as

much distinguished

is.

environmental
Europe

by what

positions

specifically

feature of

are a

having

not as

is

it

it

what

the New World,

most of

transformed

Serious

deeper

and

the Old World,

its natural

environment

and
and

having little wild untouched country left, and little sensitivity accordingly
to

such as

issues

Europe
that

tend

admit

those of

to concern

shallow

outside

environmentalism

the

built

approaches

superficiality

European

The main

wilderness.

continues
North

issues

human-transformed environment,

and

(and

environmental

encourage

techno-fix

dominate

to

America.

North

issues

situations).

of

much

the

New

in

And
World

environmentalism

American

differs significantly however from Antipodean environmentalism, most obviously

in

the

religious-spiritual

of

component

the

former,

but

in

several

other

respects as well (see further Culture).

positively,

More

environmentalism:-

Firstly,

there

there

three

are

an

is

strands

to

extended utilitarianism,

Australian/
differing

little in theory from Bentham’s enlarged position, which insists upon counting)

the utilities
British base,

movements:

of all

sentient creatures.

This

position,

developed

from a

has figured prominently in animal welfare and animal liberation

and

though it has

focussed

on domestic animals,

animals used

in

research and hunted (wild) animals, it has also become entangled in issues of

bio-research more generally such as genetic engineering.
concerned with,

or much interested in, endangered species,

It is not however
the disappearance

of wild lands, the conversion of forests, etc., except insofar as these have a
bearing on animal pain and pleasure.

Wider and deeper environmental concerns

21

appear only as a

spinoff from animal welfare,

inadequate deal.

Secondly, there is a wider and a deeper ecological position,

and so deeper concerns get an

which is not utilitarian and which recognises irreducible value elsewhere than

sentience or

forests and
differs

natural systems.

ecosystems, especially wild and

from

spiritualism

American

Thirdly,

naturalism.

there

intrinsic value

which finds

psychological states,

and

of

is

from

an

course,

extension

almost

as

in trees

and

This

position

of

American

everywhere,

a

reactionary component, critical of the other strands, which insists that all
that

be

to

needs

on

accomplished

the

environmental

can be

front

achieved

within older established (European) ethical and political frameworks.

Whereas materialism is

based in Sydney, environmentalism is centred

in

Melbourne and Canberra, but also includes Brisbane and Perth. Also centred in

Canberra, and reaching across the country, with good connections in Melbourne,
but

few

in

Sydney,

materialism and

further

environmental

input

from

relevant/paraconsistent
affecting

program
program

other

hich

the

is

major

perhaps

relevant/paraconsistent

programs have

and

epistemology

program

areas

of

includes

and which extends

is

their core

value

philosophy,

centres

a

the

with

respectively,

the

logic

especially
in

Whereas

in metaphysics,

theory

essentially

more

program.

program,

but

metaphysics

Australia

than

any

one

The
other

to New Zealand, has also been described elsewhere.

23

It
has
been described more
fully elsewhere:
see,
in particular,
Environmental Philosophy (ed.
D. Mannison and others), RSSS, Australian
National University, 1980.
o/

Again, like all the Australian programs, both those mentioned and others,
in Grave, op.cit. But see further/ R. Routley,
’Research in Logic in
Australia, New Zealand and Oceania’, Research Papers in Logic #14, Australian
National University, 1983 (which alto considers other programs in logic);
G. Priest and R. Routley, op. cit.^and R. Routley, R.K. Meyer and others,
Relevant Logics and Their Rivals, Ridgeview, California, 1982.

22

The main research

grounded

logic

program

program.

of the

in New Zealand philosophy is also

A program emanating

located mainly in Wellington,
The impact

evident

from the work of Prior and

a

now

it might be called the extended modal program.

program on philosophy is perhaps best seen in Cresswell's

work.2

Australian philosophy used to be known,

for its

is in some quarters,

regrettably New Zealand philosophy is mostly

hard-headed empiricism;

not known

and still

for anything much, except

perhaps, in UK,

that Prior brought

unusual adaption of Russellian philosophy from that remote place.

his

Neither of

these impressions is particularly accurate; both are rather out-of-date.

But

the alm of work of the present type is, of course, not just to correct these

impressions,

not just

to reflect

or report on culture - for what one would

like to reflect upon is not sufficiently there - but also to help manufacture
elements of a culture, to make an image.

To

resist

the

already flourishing

North,

we

should

increase

our

efforts

to

further

the

programs, and perhaps other sunrige projects;26 to build*
7

,^fjee especially M.J. Cresswell,
_&ics and ^.anguages, Methuen, London,
1973; but see also work by Goldblatt, rra by Hugtrfs--referred to in Research in
Logic, op.cit. Also described i
h ifi anvoriginal version of the modal
program (transparent intensional logic) elaborated by Tichy at Otago.
7A

°Among sunrise projects in Australian philosophy so far suggested (not all
of them feasible) are these:
Australian feminism, Antipodean social and
political
alternatives,
peace
studies,
indigenous regional
philosophies
(especially Aboriginal, Melanesian, and Polynesian). Another promising field,
with practical consequences, for local initiative is the philosophy of
education, where material produced yby R.S. Peters has dominated the market,
with stultifying effects it is now Alleged.
y

As foreshadowed with the notion, "sunrise projects", much of the rhetoric,
and argument, concerning science and technology policy (presented in the case
of Australia in Jones, op.cit.) can be taken over to apply to X policy, where
X is some subject discipline, such as philosophy.

A

23

teaching and research around the programs selected for promotion, elaboration,

and criticism, to orient appointments, especially of involved local people, to
Why not simply buy our philosophy, like almost

Why bother?

these programs.

all our technology, off the shelf, from the North? There are several arguments
for not doing this, in more than a limited fashion, which are now sketched/. °

is,

There

firstly,

the

inferiority and

built-in obsolence of Northern

A
products,

despite

their attractive

packaging.

Without

putting

too

fine

a

point on it, many of the imported intellectual goods are shoddy, and only work
for

a

very

limited

range

of

applications

vicinity of contradictions or dilemmas).
philosophy undoubtedly derives

from

(e.g.

they’re

hopeless

in

the

Much that is wrong with Antipodean

shoddy intellectual goods

imported

from

27

In fact something like the last has been the polictf of the LSE Philosophy
Department, where the only outside appointment over a Aong period was that of
Lakatos (hardly a person far removed ideologically)/.
As observed, it now
looks like the practice of the Otago Department also; and apparently it used
to be a tendency at Melbourne. But in most places the practice is condemned as
nepotistic or parochial, and overridden by the call for "new (Northern)
blood'.
However there can be significant differences between nepotistic
appointments and those strengthening local programs.

It is at this
for example, to
rather than Northern stc/oges,
rather than imported fashions,
administrative details
draconian,

do matter;
employment
n-going local programs
ious ways appropriate

Observe^ that no
Canadian style) or the like is being advocated.
conclusion of that sort from what has been argued has misunderstood the
in crucial
respects.
As a t matter of
simple mathematics,
appointment fields characteristically reduces both quality of
available (however quality i
assessed)
range of possibilities open
future research;
d no s h restrictioi/s are advocated.
The author
witnessed the se
times disastrous eff
s of field restrictions at
Australian National University.

—
Some of
centre also.
2g

___
these arguments

support

change

(perhaps

revolutionary)

at

the

24

the

North.

Yet

buying

this material

is

by hard-sell

encouraged

ambassadors from the North, who are often enough paid to visit.
of the

philosophical imperialism from the North that

colonialism -

the Antipodes

too willing

cultural

This is part

the successor to Northern

suffers,

or,

remarkable,

more

encourages!

Secondly, there is the inappropriateness of much of the Northern product,

especially

considered

as

metaphysics, environmental

a

for

package,

concerns.

instance,

to

cover,

as

well

as

The European North has no satisfactory

land or environmental ethic fit for Antipodean circumstances, and the deeper
American package is too spiritually-loaded for mainstream Australian culture.
29

In

political

competition-based,

unsuited being

theory,

American

work

is

too

much

individualistic

the European product, especially the Marxist form,

and

both too

precious and

too high-tech for local

and

is

circumstances,

especially again for more environmentally-perceptive people.

Thirdly,
features

of

telling

also
Import

against

substitution

and

comparative

advantage,

regionalism;

namely,

world’s markets and pressures and fashions,

are

appealing

avoidance of

the

removal of overseas control

anra

power structures (including the Old Boy’s network in jobs, policies, etc.) and
gaining of local control, employment of local people, etc.

Fourthly,

philosophy

as

there
part

are

of

arguments

intellectual

for

cultural

culture:

diversity,

arguments

from

applied

to

richness,

.
.
/
The point is elaborated in Culture.
At a more practical level Northern
products are again often unsuitable, though for different reasons.
For
example, the transfer of American agricultural methods and equipment to /the
thin poor soils of the Antipodes has had disastrous effects, at ttfast
beginning to be recognised.
v—*
29

25

complexity, sheer diversity,

stability,

etc.

30

In fact,

built into the whole notion of ’culture’ transfers.
dense, productive garden.

We obtain not only good products,

and European cultivars, but European pests

and

Naturally we want a rich,

But not only seeds and plants but weeds and many

pests are being introduced.

selectiveness

the garden analogy

control

are

essential,

and American weeds.

as

against

Indian maize

This is why

previous

haphazard

/
/

procedures.

The proposal is not for, nor would the case sustain

as

with

technology

policy,

satisfactorily filled,
local

we

select

niches

which

a narrow localism

are

where we can make a difference, and

skills and methods.

Indeed the

policy has

to be

not

occupied

or

use and develop

selective given our

30 See,

for instance, A.A. Mazrui, A World Federation of Cultures: An African
Perspective, Free Press, New York, 1976.

31 Does

it sound familiar? Outside philosophy, it should. For example, we
have now been told by the Americans that our defence role, unlike theirs, is
regional, not global: this is supposed to shed great light on our previously
confused defence policies.

26

That includes such things as

Oxford style of teaching and doing philosophy.

removal of the undue emphasis on British empiricism centred on Locke-BerkeleyHume (a standard British focus); of the quasi-historical approach with however

no

proper

attention

to

quo.

American status

sources;

reinforcement/of

The heavy Oxford influence^

very conservative

been a

of

emanating from England,

the prevailing

in particular, has mostly

More generally; many of

one.

Anglo-

the main movements

especially ordinary language philosophy, but also the

Moore-Wittgenstein practice, have been very protective of the Northern status
quo; they tend to leave things very much as they are, and recommend just this.
32

Positively,

the

proposal is

that we achieve further disassociation from

the Anglo-American empiricist past in two ways:

by emphasizing local projects

that move outside that constricting framework, and by diversifying the range
philosophical

of

traditions

selectively

drawn

upon,

include

to

not

only

neglected Continental strands and parts of Eastern thought, but also Pacific

ethnic

material

and

Australasian

philosophy.

The

idea

is

that

such

a

plurality of sources, especially in teaching, will assist in removing narrower

cultural biasses, such as British parochialism, and enable more discrimination
to

be

obtained.

theories

that

Then too

are open

we

to us

should
in

be better

the Antipodes

able

and

to

how

see

the

ranges of

to advance our own

programs.

32

The point is laboured in E. Gellner, Words and Things, Victor Gollancz,
London, 1959.
But even ordinary language philosophy, though conservative, and
though it much contracted the proper range of philosophical investigations,
had its liberating elements, e.g. removal of some of the narrowness and more
cramping assumptions induced by technical jargon.
Nor has the social impact changed much with the subsequent decline, since
1959, of ordinary language philosophy, the increasing insolvency of Oxbridge
philosophy, and its consequent limited take-over by righ^:-wing Ivy League
American philosophy. By contrast, the less economically ^g/ljiential growth of
radical and applied philosophy in some of the British r-aH icad, and polytechnic
institutes has touched no more than the surface of Oxbridge practice.

27

There remain some things we should want to see whatever mixes are chosen

One crucial issue is the removal of Northern

in different Ai^ipodean regions.

bias from pap/rs and publications, research seminars and lectures, letters of

referencez\o/ so on.
the

works

and

irrespective
discussion

This Northern bias is a disposition to cite and discuss

of

projects

of

and

quality

the

of

the

ignore

to

authors,

Northern

their

works

the

more

contributyon
of

famous
to

the

local/ authors,

irrespective of the quality of their contribution.

better,

the

topic

again

under
largely

It is the disposition to

write or lecture as though work produced locally either does not exist or has
not

been

influential

philosophers,

are,

ensuring

(thus

if

anything,

that

more

it

inclined

is
to

not).
Northern

And

Australasian

bias

than

many

overseas intellectuals, who are perhaps less concerned to be seen as belonging
to the Northern

The reduction, and eventual removal, of Northern

tream.

bias effects
of fe/ec/'/

Inly -the

policies

and

practice

/

*
W

cours

*
2S

philosophers,

individual

eferees of local journals.

but

the

It involves, among other

work\nd innovations better, so they can

tg to
point

of

i/Quc.
that would be assisted by greater local

out

A
taught,

more

time

spent at

local

institutions on

study

oq/

leave, and so for-th.

xS? c* /I
x

APPENDIX 1. Background notes on the philosophy supply situation.

Sociological

investigation of the philosophy labour market in Australia and New Zealand has

o

yet

to be attempted.

But a

picture of

some elements underlying the

numerical argument of the text can be gained from the following table:

simple

28

TABLE 1. Ph.Ds in Philosophy: a USA - Australasian comparison

USA
Number (Male/Female)

New Zealand

Australia

1974

413 (346/67)

6

0

1975

375 (318/57)

5

0

1976

382 (319/63)

8

0

1977

330 (264/66)

3

2 (1/1)

1978

283 (235^/48)

5

5 (4/1)

1979

285 (20-754)

9

3 (2/1)

4

N.A.

4

0

1980

N.A.

1981

1. The breakdown of the USA and New Zealand numbers by sexes (male/female) is
given.- ,
Similar figures do not appear to be available for Australia,
2.
The US figures are for the academic year ending in the Year shown, e.g.
1978 covers the Northern academic yeai 1977-78. Southern figures are for the
calendar year shown

Digest of Education Statistfcs, US National Center for Education
Statistics;
University STA1 STICS,
Australian Bureau of
Census
Statistics; New Zealand Education Statistics.

Sources:

-41/

Comments:

1.

The contraction of US doctoral

female

0^.
r

representation,

production and

are

cooarHn-itant

Australian

likely too small to reflect

2.

the

rise

figures

in
are

to the academic market.

Some of the Australasian raaembers include Americans; likewise the American

figures provide no nationality breakdown.

3 %

There

is

no

information

available

on

the

number’

proceeding to higher degrees in philosophy outside Australia.

of

Australians

29

For example, it is

In applying table 1 some simplifying assumptions are made.
assumed

to regular university positions now

for appointment

that candidates

would have a doctorate or the equivalent (until recently a B.Phil was taken as

a

near

of

equivalent

well).

It

is

a

assumed,

Ph.D.;

North American
seems

what

to

take

publications

the

case,

serve

as

the number

of

could

that

Australasians proceeding to higher degrees in philosophy abroad is relatively
small, and no more than the order of Ph.Ds. taken locally.

It can be assumed,

without upsetting applications of table 1, that Australasian graduates match,

say, the upper half of American graduates in standard attained.

There is no compiled information /n academic vacancies in philosophy in
/
of
Australia or New Zealand -Mln the numbers, on how the positions are filled, by
A

what nationalities,

sexes,

etc.

It would however be a

routine,

if

tedious

matter to assemble some of this data, which is of considerable relevlance to
the planning of philosophy programs.

On the earlier idea of a National Philosophy for Australia.

APPENDIX 2.

’the

considering

Editor of

the

possibility

initial

of

National

a

AJPP distinguished

two

German distinction between Weltanschauung and

Philosophy*,

senses

the

In

(Australian)

corresponding

Lebensanchauung’

to

’the

(p.292).

In

the first, that of ’a scheme of the universe’, ’an Australian Philosophy is as
ridiculous

as

confirmation
prejudices’.

a Christian
or

Holland,

personal’

falsification,

’are

The argument

independent

is

of

that

truth,

national

and

sympathies

its
or

Granted: but that does not mean that a theory may not be held,

fostered, etc.,

in

Science’.

or

way,

in one region but not others, as intuitionism was for long in
Cartesianism

’a

nation

in

France.

like

an

In

a

individual

second

may

’more

develop

intimate

a

and

certain

temperamental attitude to the problems of existence, which we may ... call its
philosophy of life.

A nation’s philosophy, like its art and its literature,

30

is a mode of expression for the national consciousness.
form of

(pp.292-3).

the national genius

evolving

culture.

national

in

But,

the

It is,

first

place,

It is a specialised

in short, part of the
this

is by no means

entirely separate from the initial sense, a philosophy comprising not merely a

fairly comprehensive theory but also an integrated set of attitudes (like an
operational paradigm).

Furthermore, only by concession are such items as ’the

national consciousness’

and ’the Australian landscape’

of

meriting

definite

Australian

descriptors.

literature, has many strands

to it,

accounted single units

like

philosophy,

Australian

some not particularly distinctive (in any

sense): such things form rather loose families.
The Editor

does not

find,

does

not

really

hope

to

in

find

’a modern

industrialised community’ - with its modular parts interchangeable with those
of

others - a

claims
courage

to

find

and

national

a

philosophy of

trite moral

fair dealing'),

base

life,

to build

In fact

with a difference.

on

(’traditions

but nothing at all distinctive.

he

... of humour,
So far,

there can be a national philosophy, at least of life, but is not;

then,

this does

not however exclude there being various regional philosophies (such as local
research programs).

plunged
that

into

So

then,

far,

Inconsistency:

the

all is well.

trouble derives

But shortly the Editor is

from the

extravagant

claim

’if Australia has nothing to do with these - the eternal values of the

Spirit, the Ideals of Truth, Goodness and Beauty - then and only then has she

nothing to do with Philosophy'

(p.295; with rearrangement).

But, as Australia

has nothing per se to do with these - as is virtually conceded, these values
involving a 'wider sweep'

do with Philosophy,
Though

the

than any national boundaries - "she" has nothing to

contradicting the

contradiction

is

easily

possibility of a National Philosophy.

avoided

by

rescinding

claim, the ideal of a National Philosophy should be allowed

nationalism has had its time.

the

extravagant

to rest in peace:

31

R. Routley

33

Research School of Social Sciences
Australian National University

3^with

thanks

to R. Elliot,

W. Godfrey-Smith,

S. Grave

and

L. ? irlin, to
several members of the audience at the presentation of the paper a: the 1983
to
Australasian Association of Philosophy Conference, University of\Adelaide,
’
several referees for this Journal, and, not least, to the present ijai tor.