Plenary Panel in Honour of Marion Tapper (1951–2023)
cohosted by the ASCP and AAP
Marion Tapper (1951–2023) made an indelible contribution to philosophy in Australia. A remarkable, brilliant, and iconoclastic educator, her teaching and supervision guided generations of minds through the wonders and complexities of philosophical dialogue. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Melbourne School for Continental Philosophy, and advocated for the role of women in philosophy.
This plenary features a range of speakers who knew Marion as a friend, colleague, student, and supervisor. Panellists will reflect on Marion’s life and work by responding to the guiding question ‘What is the art of philosophical interpretation?’, chosen because her research and teaching both engaged with and enacted this art in ways that continue to influence those whose lives she touched.
Chair: Chair: Marilyn Stendera
Panellists: Max Deutscher, Marguerite La Caze, Robert SInnerbrink, Sean Ryan and Felicity Joseph.
Marion Tapper studied philosophy at the University of Western Australia and received her PhD from Macquarie University in 1979. She contributed to Australian philosophical thought in an academic career that helped to establish ‘phenomenology, and continental philosophy more broadly, as an important, strong, and respected area of philosophical inquiry in Australia’; established feminist philosophy at the University of Queensland, and played a foundational role in setting up the Melbourne School of Continental Philosophy (MSCP). Marion lectured in Philosophy at Macquarie University, ANU, University of Queensland, and then the University of Melbourne for over two decades. Her interests and publications included the history of philosophy, existentialism and phenomenology, especially Kant, Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre. She inspired and supervised generations of students in these areas. Marion also contributed significantly to the Australasian Association of Philosophy and the philosophy profession as Marion was the AAP Secretary (1998-2003) and Appointments Officer (1986-7 and 1994-8). She co-authored seminal reports about women and the profession – ‘Special Problems Facing Women in Philosophy’ (with San MacColl, Genevieve Lloyd and Barbara Roxon) in 1982 and 'Women and Philosophy' (with Janna Thompson) in 1991.
