Australian materialism
Encyclopedia
Australian realism, also called Australian materialism, was a school of philosophy
that flourished in the first half of the 20th century in several universities in Australia
including the Australian National University
, the University of Adelaide
, and the University of Sydney
, and whose central claim, as stated by leading theorist John Anderson
, was that "whatever exists … is real, that is to say it is a spatial and temporal situation or occurrence that is on the same level of reality as anything else that exists". Coupled with this was Anderson's idea that "every fact (which includes every “object”) is a complex situation: there are no simples, no atomic facts, no objects which cannot be, as it were, expanded into facts." Prominent players included Anderson, David Malet Armstrong
, J. L. Mackie
, Ullin Place
, J. J. C. Smart
, and David Stove
. The label "Australian realist" was conferred on acolytes of Anderson by A. J. Baker in 1986, to mixed approval from those realist
philosophers who happened to be Australian. David Malet Armstrong "suggested, half-seriously, that 'the strong sunlight and harsh brown landscape of Australia force reality upon us'".
, J.L. Mackie, David Stove, Eugene Kamenka
and David Malet Armstrong. Anderson viewed philosophy historically as a long argument beginning with Thales
. Anderson proposed that there was nothing more to being than the spatio-temporal system and that a correct and coherent view of the world involved not only rejecting any sort of deity, but also the extraordinary entities postulated by so many philosophers, from at least the time of Plato
to the present day.
Independently from the Andersonians, in Adelaide during the 1950s, the Mind-Brain Identity Theory was being developed by two former students of Gilbert Ryle
, J. J. C. Smart
(then Chair of Philosophy at the University of Adelaide
) and Ullin Place
.
status. There are no 'levels' of reality.
(2) All situations have a propositional form - that is, all situations have the form of "A is B".
(3) Reality is infinitely complex and plural. Every fact (which includes every “object”) is a complex situation: there are no simples, no atomic facts, no objects which cannot be expanded into facts.
(4) All situations exist independent of knowledge of them.
(5) Determinism: all entities - objects, events, situations - are caused.
(6) Ethics is concerned with establishing and describing what is Good. This is a positive science. It is not normative.
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
that flourished in the first half of the 20th century in several universities in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
including the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
, the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, and the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, and whose central claim, as stated by leading theorist John Anderson
John Anderson (philosopher)
John Anderson was a Scottish-born Australian philosopher who occupied the post of Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University in the years 1927-1958. He founded the empirical brand of philosophy known as Australian realism...
, was that "whatever exists … is real, that is to say it is a spatial and temporal situation or occurrence that is on the same level of reality as anything else that exists". Coupled with this was Anderson's idea that "every fact (which includes every “object”) is a complex situation: there are no simples, no atomic facts, no objects which cannot be, as it were, expanded into facts." Prominent players included Anderson, David Malet Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong
David Malet Armstrong , often D. M. Armstrong, is an Australian philosopher. He is well-known for his work on metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, and for his defence of a factualist ontology, a functionalist theory of the mind, an externalist epistemology, and a necessitarian conception of the...
, J. L. Mackie
J. L. Mackie
John Leslie Mackie was an Australian philosopher, originally from Sydney. He made significant contributions to the philosophy of religion, metaphysics, and the philosophy of language, and is perhaps best known for his views on meta-ethics, especially his defence of moral skepticism.He authored six...
, Ullin Place
Ullin Place
Ullin Place was a British philosopher and psychologist. Along with J. J. C. Smart, he developed the identity theory of mind. Place was born in Yorkshire and studied under Gilbert Ryle at Oxford University. There, he became acquainted with philosophy of mind in the logical behaviorist tradition,...
, J. J. C. Smart
J. J. C. Smart
John Jamieson Carswell "Jack" Smart AC is an Australian philosopher and academic who is currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, Australia...
, and David Stove
David Stove
David Charles Stove , was an Australian philosopher of science.His work in philosophy of science included detailed criticisms of David Hume's inductive skepticism, as well as what he regarded as the irrationalism of his disciplinary contemporaries Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, Imre Lakatos, and Paul...
. The label "Australian realist" was conferred on acolytes of Anderson by A. J. Baker in 1986, to mixed approval from those realist
Philosophical realism
Contemporary philosophical realism is the belief that our reality, or some aspect of it, is ontologically independent of our conceptual schemes, linguistic practices, beliefs, etc....
philosophers who happened to be Australian. David Malet Armstrong "suggested, half-seriously, that 'the strong sunlight and harsh brown landscape of Australia force reality upon us'".
Origins
Australian realism began after John Anderson accepted the Challis Chair of Philosophy at the University of Sydney in 1927. His students included philosophers such as John PassmoreJohn Passmore
John Passmore AC was an Australian philosopher.Passmore was born in Manly, Sydney. He graduated from the University of Sydney with first-class honours in English literature and philosophy, and went on to study to become a secondary-school teacher...
, J.L. Mackie, David Stove, Eugene Kamenka
Eugene Kamenka
Eugene Kamenka was born in Cologne in 1928 and taken to Australia in 1937. Kamenka family is of Odessa descent. He was educated at the Sydney Technical High School, and went on to take first-class honours in philosophy at the University of Sydney under John Anderson...
and David Malet Armstrong. Anderson viewed philosophy historically as a long argument beginning with Thales
Thales
Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Miletus in Asia Minor, and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regard him as the first philosopher in the Greek tradition...
. Anderson proposed that there was nothing more to being than the spatio-temporal system and that a correct and coherent view of the world involved not only rejecting any sort of deity, but also the extraordinary entities postulated by so many philosophers, from at least the time of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
to the present day.
Independently from the Andersonians, in Adelaide during the 1950s, the Mind-Brain Identity Theory was being developed by two former students of Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle , was a British philosopher, a representative of the generation of British ordinary language philosophers that shared Wittgenstein's approach to philosophical problems, and is principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "the ghost in the...
, J. J. C. Smart
J. J. C. Smart
John Jamieson Carswell "Jack" Smart AC is an Australian philosopher and academic who is currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, Australia...
(then Chair of Philosophy at the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
) and Ullin Place
Ullin Place
Ullin Place was a British philosopher and psychologist. Along with J. J. C. Smart, he developed the identity theory of mind. Place was born in Yorkshire and studied under Gilbert Ryle at Oxford University. There, he became acquainted with philosophy of mind in the logical behaviorist tradition,...
.
Basic tenets
(1) All entities exist in spatio-temporal 'situations'. 'Situations' are all that exist. All situations have the same ontologicalOntology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
status. There are no 'levels' of reality.
(2) All situations have a propositional form - that is, all situations have the form of "A is B".
(3) Reality is infinitely complex and plural. Every fact (which includes every “object”) is a complex situation: there are no simples, no atomic facts, no objects which cannot be expanded into facts.
(4) All situations exist independent of knowledge of them.
(5) Determinism: all entities - objects, events, situations - are caused.
(6) Ethics is concerned with establishing and describing what is Good. This is a positive science. It is not normative.
External links
- Australian Realism
- D. Khlentzos, 'Realism' in A Companion to Philosophy in Australia and New Zealand
- Black Swans: The formative influences in Australian philosophy
- ABC Radio National - The Philosophers Zone: Metaphysics Down Under
- ABC Radio National - All In The Mind: The Mind-Body Problem Down Under