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Passmore Philosophy Collection
John Arthur Passmore AC (1914 – 2004) was one of Australia’s pre-eminent philosophers, a major figure in the history of ideas and one of the first to give shape to the field of ‘applied philosophy’. In 1988 he provided an initial donation of books from his personal and working library. Following his death in 2004, his family offered the remainder of his library to UOW. The books are a valuable addition of around 2000 items in the areas of philosophy, ethics, logic, moral thought and the history of thought.
The Passmore Collection provides an indication of the eclectic nature of his interests and supplements his personal papers and writings that have been donated to the National Library of Australia.
Publications
| 1934 | T. S. Eliot, Literary Society, University of Sydney |
| 1951 | Ralph Cudworth, Cambridge University Press |
| 1952 | Hume’s intentions, Cambridge University Press |
| 1957 | A hundred years of philosophy, Duckworth and Co |
| 1961 | Philosophical reasoning, Duckworth and Co |
| 1965 | Introduction to Joseph Priestly, Collier Books |
| 1970 | The perfectibility of man, Duckworth and Co |
| 1974 | Man’s responsibility to nature, Duckworth and Co |
| 1978 | Science and its critics, Rutgers University Press |
| 1980 | The philosophy of teaching, Duckworth and Co |
| 1985 | Recent philosophers, Duckworth and Co |
| 1991 | Serious art, Duckworth and Co |
| 1997 | Memoirs of a semi-detached Australian, Melbourne University Press |
Biography
| 1914 | Born 9 September, Manly NSW |
| 1918-28 | Attended Manly Public School |
| 1929-30 | Attended Sydney Boys’ High School |
| 1931-34 | Studied at University of Sydney, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts, first class honours in Philosophy and English literature |
| 1935-49 | Successively Tutor, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Sydney |
| 1950-54 | Professor of Philosophy at Otago University, Dunedin, New Zealand |
| 1955 | Reader of Philosophy, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University |
| 1959 | Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University |
| 1965 | Awarded the Mackie Medal by the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 1967-70 | Visiting Scholar, Institute of Education, London |
| 1971 | Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| 1974 | Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Science |
| 1974-77 | President of the Australian Academy of Humanities |
| 1976 | Gauss Lecturer, Princeton University |
| 1978 | Visiting Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford |
| 1979 | Foreign Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters |
| 1980 | Tanner Lecturer, Cambridge University |
| 1980-82 | University Fellow in History of Ideas, Australian National University |
| 1981 | Boyer Lecturer for the ABC, presenting a series of discussions on the limits of government |
| 1985-91 | Visiting Distinguished Professor and General Editor, Bertrand Russell Project, McMaster University, Canada |
| 1992 | Honorary Graduate, University of Wollongong |
| 1993 | Awarded the Order of Australia for his contribution to philosophy |
| 1995-2004 | Visiting Fellow in History and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Australian National University |
Last reviewed: 1 June, 2007
