John Anderson (philosopher)

John Anderson
John Anderson, University of Sydney, 1926
Born	(1893-11-01)1 November 1893 Stonehouse, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died	6 July 1962(1962-07-06) (aged 68) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Era	20th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Analytic philosophy Australian realism Libertarianism
Notable students	John Passmore, A. J. Baker, David Armstrong, Futa Helu, David Stove, J. L. Mackie
Main interests	Political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of sexuality, philosophy of religion
Notable ideas	Systematic realism[1]

John Anderson (1 November 1893 – 6 July 1962) was a Scottish philosopher who occupied the post of Challis Professor of Philosophy at Sydney University from 1927 to 1958. He founded the empirical brand of philosophy known as Australian realism.

Anderson's promotion of 'freethought' in all subjects, including politics and morality, was controversial and brought him into constant conflict with the august senate of the university. However, he is credited with educating a generation of influential 'Andersonian' thinkers and activists—some of whom helped to place Sydney in the forefront of the 'sexual revolution' of the 1950s and 1960s.

To Anderson, an acceptable philosophy must have significant 'sweep' and be capable of challenging and moulding ideas in every aspect of intellect and society.