Brian Herbert Medlin (1927–2004) was Foundation Professor of Philosophy at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

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, from 1967 to 1988. He pioneered radical

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

in Australian universities and played an active role in the campaign against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Early life

Medlin was born in 1927 in Orroroo, South Australia. He was the younger brother of

Harry Medlin (Edwin) Harry Medlin (2 January 1920 – 6 March 2013) was Deputy Chancellor of the University of Adelaide from 1978 to 1997. Early life and education Medlin was born in Orroroo on 2 January 1920. His younger brother was the philosopher and acti ...

, who became the Deputy Chancellor of

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. Medlin attended

Richmond Primary School Keswick() is an inner south-western suburb of Adelaide, adjacent to the park lands, and located in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is home to the Keswick Barracks, the headquarters of the Royal District Nursing Service, the Keswick Cricke ...

and

Adelaide Technical High School Glenunga International High School (GIHS), formerly Glenunga High School (GHS), is a publicly-funded international school in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located approximately south-east of the Adelaide city centre in the suburb of Glenun ...

. While at high school, Medlin was introduced to the philosophy of

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...

. He worked in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

after graduating from secondary school, working in the pastoral industry in various capacities. He returned to Adelaide in the mid-1950s and while working as a teacher he studied

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Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, graduating in 1958 with first-class honours. During his university years he associated with writers such as John Bray, Charles Jury, Max Harris and

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in '' South Pacific'' (194 ...

. He received a scholarship to attend

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, where he spent several years. He met the British

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and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Iris Murdoch in the early 1960s and on his return to Australia corresponded with her for several decades. Their correspondence was a significant influence on Murdoch's depiction of Australia in her novels. During his Oxford years, he spent a year teaching philosophy in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Academic career

On his return to Australia in 1964, Medlin initially worked as a Reader at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. His early interests included the

identity theory of mind Type physicalism (also known as reductive materialism, type identity theory, mind–brain identity theory and identity theory of mind) is a physicalist theory in the philosophy of mind. It asserts that mental events can be grouped into types, a ...

and the nature of egoism. In 1967 he was appointed to the newly established

Flinders University of South Australia Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

as the Foundation Professor of Philosophy. In 1970, he adopted

revolutionary socialism Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolut ...

and with colleagues introduced new topics concerned with "applying philosophical methods to current problems and social issues". He developed innovative courses in

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...

, and politics and art, and instituted a student-staff consultative committee. He became known nationally as “an early leader in the ‘red shift’ in academic philosophy.” In 1971 he was described as "spearheading the revolution" in philosophy which polarised academics in Australia when he draped a red flag over the podium at the conference of the Australian Association of Philosophers. He retired from Flinders in 1988, after a serious motorcycle accident in 1983 had long-term effects on his health. He was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor. Medlin's influence is attested by obituaries published in the national daily ''Australian'' newspaper and in the Australian Federal Senate.

Activism

Medlin was strongly opposed to Australia's participation in the Vietnam War. He was chairman of the Campaign for Peace in Vietnam (CPV) in

. Medlin played a leading role with other activists such as Lynn Arnold in the

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

campaign. He was arrested during a Vietnam Moratorium Campaign (VMC) march in September 1970 and imprisoned for three weeks. During this time, his supporters kept a

candlelit vigil A candlelight vigil or candlelit vigil is an outdoor Popular assembly, assembly of people carrying candles, held after sunset in order to show support for a specific cause. Such events are typically held either to protest the suffering of some mar ...

outside Adelaide jail. These experiences contributed to his influential course on

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and the arts taught at

, which prompted the formation of the well-known Australian

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band Redgum. Over many years Medlin was subject to

covert surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...

by ASIO for his activism and radicalism. Redgum went on to produce a song that satired and criticised ASIO's surveillance of peace activists.

Later career

After his retirement from Flinders University, Medlin moved to Victoria with his wife, Christine Vick, and spent some years regenerating a 10-acre property at

Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Austral ...

with

native vegetation In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

. He retained an interest in many subjects including natural history,

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

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and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

. He died in 2004.

Writings

In 1957, while still studying at Adelaide University, Medlin published an article titled "Ultimate principles and ethical egoism" that continues to be seen as a significant contribution to debates about egoism. For example In 2007, Stephen R.C. Hicks wrote, in reference to this essay, “Brian Medlin was representative” of his generation in tending to scepticism and non-naturalism. His 1963 article “The origin of motion” is discussed in detail in N. Strobach's “The Moment of Change” (2013). Medlin also wrote

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, which was widely published in Australian periodicals through the 1950s and 1960s, and

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, often using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Timothy Tregonning. Many unpublished works are in the Brian Medlin Collection at Flinders University. A collection of his essays, stories and poems titled ''The Level-Headed Revolutionary'' was published by Wakefield Press in 2021.

Bibliography

Books

''Human Nature Human Survival''. Adelaide: Board of Research, Flinders University, 1992. ''Never Mind about the Bourgeoisie: The Correspondence between Iris Murdoch and Brian Medlin 1976-1995.'' Edited by Gillian Dooley and Graham Nerlich. Newcastle on Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2014. ''The Level-Headed Revolutionary: Essays, Stories and Poems by Brian Medlin.'' Edited by Gillian Dooley, Wallace McKitrick and Susan Petrilli. Adelaide: Wakefield Press, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medlin, Brian Herbert 1927 births 2004 deaths Analytic philosophers Anti–Vietnam War activists Academic staff of Flinders University Australian environmentalists Australian essayists Australian ethicists Australian humanists Australian male non-fiction writers Australian male poets Australian male short story writers Australian pacifists 20th-century Australian philosophers Australian photographers Australian socialists Critics of Objectivism (Ayn Rand) Environmental philosophers Environmental writers Epistemologists Green thinkers Metaphysicians Metaphysics writers Ontologists Philosophers of art Philosophers of culture Philosophers of education Philosophers of history Philosophers of literature Philosophers of mind Philosophers of social science Philosophers of war Philosophy academics Political controversies in Australia Political history of Australia Political philosophers Redgum Australian social commentators Social philosophers Sustainability advocates Theorists on Western civilization