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Peter Herbst interviewed by Stewart Harris [sound recording]
Bib ID 1858007
Format AudioAudio
Author
Herbst, Peter, 1919-2007
 
Access Conditions Access open for research, personal copies and public use. 
Description 1994. 
20 sound tape reels (ca. 386 min.) : analog, 7 1/2 ips, 2 track, mono. ; 7 in. 
Summary

Herbst speaks of his family background as Jews in Germany; the first signs of National Socialism; the Nazis breaking into his family home (1933) and threatening his father with internment in a concentration camp; being sent to England as a result of this to complete his education; his education in politics at Haileyburg College (U.K.); how after graduating, without work permit or citzenship he lived cheaply in London; following Dunkirk being arrested and sent to an internment camp in Liverpool and later shipped to Fremantle in 1941; his views of British authoritarianism compared to Australian equalitarianism; volunteering for the Australian Army in 1942 as well as commencing philosophy at University of Melbourne; his life with the Boyd family.

Herbst discusses how he became involved in a pottery business with Arthur Boyd; Melbourne's Art Renaissance period; tutoring at university; taking up a scholarship to Oxford University (1950); his criticism of the philosophical doctrines in vogue at Oxford, particularly scientism; in 1955 he took a lectureship at Gold Coast University in Ghana, resigning when the pervading Communist ideology destroys free inquiry; later the invitation to the Chair in Philosophy at Canberra University College and his acceptance, philosophers in Canberra deeply divided, being been slandered by the feminists, notably Elizabeth Reid, with accusations of chauvinism; the adoption of his two children; his further travels overseas; retiring from ANU to take up work in the environmental movement; his bitter attack on today's consumerism and loss of humanist principles.

Biography/History

Peter Herbst was Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the Australian National University, A.C.T.

Notes

Working duplicate and user cassette copies made.

Recorded on Feb. 21, 1994 to Mar. 15, 1994.

Index/Finding Aid Note Summary (7 p.), corrected transcript (typescript, 213 leaves) and folder of related material. 
Subjects Herbst, Peter, - 1919-2007 - Interviews.  |  Boyd, Arthur, - 1920-1999.  |  Philosophers - Australia - Biography.  |  Philosophers - Australia - Interviews.  |  Philosophy - Australia - History.
Other authors/contributors Harris, Stewart, 1922-1994

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    Details Collect From
    ORAL TRC 3021
    Copy: Recording
    Petherick Reading Room (Oral History)
    ORAL TRC 3021 (transcript)
    Copy: Transcript
    Petherick Reading Room (Oral History)
    ORAL TRC 3021 (summary)
    Copy: Summary
    Petherick Reading Room (Oral History)

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    Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. All users of the catalogue should also be aware that certain words, terms or descriptions may be culturally sensitive and may be considered inappropriate today, but may have reflected the author's/creator's attitude or that of the period in which they were written.