Bruce Haynes ponders why "a self-appointed steering committee ..." produced a draft constitution for adoption at the first meeting in 1970. The author suspects that it had to do not only with the ideas of the people so appointed, but with the fact that Richard Peters spent several months at ANU in 1969 and, the author presumes, was…

In this article, the author shares his experience as a lecturer in Anna Hogg's Department at Sydney Teachers College, where he became involved at the very beginning of Bill Andersen's and Anna's (and Les Brown's) efforts to form what was to become Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). The author provides a brief overview of PESA…

As the author thinks back over his association with Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA), particularly during the 1970s and 1980s when he was most active in the organization, three themes emerge. First, the author feels immense gratitude for the many good friends and colleagues whose company he found both enjoyable and…

This author's interest in philosophy derived from a passion for mathematics that developed in middle high school, which he attended in Sydney. In this article, he provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life and his involvement with the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). He states that despite the research demands of his…

In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He states that his educational journey has always been something of an ongoing fight from his first day at primary school, to the secondary school curriculum and a social philosophy, and what he learned practically in the Navy. Changing the philosophy curriculum in…

There is a certain similarity between the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the leaning tower of Pisa. Both have a certain presence on the landscape: the tower has a commanding appearance on the Italian countryside while PESA has left its mark on the academic fabric of Australasia. Both are much loved: Pisa by visiting…

In this article, the author provides a personal narrative of his experiences as an overseas visitor to Australia, and his decision to become a permanent resident (and ultimately an Australian citizen). He also reflects on his attendances at various conferences and his membership in the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA).

In this article, the author acknowledges the usefulness of pursuing the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) "narrative" by way of a more personal account of her own philosophical and professional development. In having the opportunity to read others' contributions prior to writing her own, the author has been able to…

In this article, the author shares his experiences as one of few Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) members and describes how he came to know about PESA. The author recounts an event during his period as president of PESA in 1986 and his efforts to promote and establish some form of international membership of various philosophy…

Ludwig Wittgenstein taught only a couple of Australian philosophers, at Cambridge in the late 1940s, and one of them, Frank "Camo" Jackson (Chair, Philosophy, Monash University) taught the author epistemology and philosophical psychology in the 1970s. In this article, the author describes how this teaching was central to his subsequent…

In this article, the author shares her experiences on how she came to know about Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA). The author opines that PESA could develop more positive interaction with both the Federation of Australasian Philosophy for Children Associations (FAPCA) and the Australian Philosophy Association (APA). She…

Contributors to this special issue have been asked to provide self-portraits of their intellectual lives and to consider the development of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) as an organisation. The author approaches this task by keeping the autobiographical details to a minimum and focusing more on the prospects for…

In this article, the author provides a self-portrait of his intellectual life. He states that overall his approach to teaching and researching is about "making sense" where inadequate or incongruous conceptions fall into place or are transformed so they are congruous and adequate. In his teaching the author applies the methods of…

In this article, the author describes his intellectual growing-up and how Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) entered into his intellectual frame and became more prominent in his philosophical-educational world. He states that for someone who set out to be a classroom science teacher, he has been inordinately fortunate in, so to…

The Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA) and the field of philosophy of education seemed like a natural junction in this author's life. They provided a means by which he could begin to think about the relations between education and his own experiences as a student and teacher, and philosophy. Peters has been editor of…