Alan Edward Musgrave

I was a student of Alan’s in the 90s and had the very great privilege of having Alan as my masters thesis supervisor. I learned an incredible amount from him and simply would not have had the life and career I’ve enjoyed without his guiding light. He reached down to help me and gave me his very best - and it shaped my entire life. I have been a very lucky man to have had him as a teacher, mentor and friend. Best speed to the universe Alan!

I am so very sad to hear of his passing! He was immensely supportive of me as a young academic. Not only was he an outstanding philosopher who made a huge contribution through his research and an inspiring lecturer, he was a lovely human being whose encouragement of young academics will be long remembered by all those who benefitted from it!

I'm coming to this page late: I wanted to share my deep gratitude for Alan's teaching and it's impact on my life. Alan was such an inspiration and encouragement to me, and I'll always see him as the ideal model of a professor. Curious, kind, humble, and deeply insightful.

Farewell to my friend and mentor the 'Mad Dog Realist' who was a fierce defender of truth, realism, and common sense. I still circulate your marvelous books to my friends and family who are routinely impressed by both the depth of your ideas and how clearly you communicate them. I will forever treasure our shared fascination with the oddities of Berkeley who desired certain knowledge so badly that he preferred ideas over external properties. Rest well Alan, your loss is a tremendous one.

Alan was of great importance to me in 1970 in my final year of honours at Otago. I was inclined to Logic and the Philosophy of Science and I found ordinary language philosophy moribund. His first academic encounter with the Department was at the weekly staff seminar in late 1970 in which I had to present the paper (all honours students were required to give two papers at the staff seminars in their final years). Mine was on the paradoxes of confirmation, a topic not previously discussed on my course, and so I was nervous. I wasn’t expecting Alan to be there. This young man came in – a professor and, as I knew, only 29 - and more or less took over with total confidence and high intelligence, and with such charm! It was wonderful. Alan was the opposite of pretentiousness, and he projected directness and moral insight. He, along with Pavel and David, made a substantial impact on my life. 55 years on, I still I think of them as the “three young men.”

My dad Daniel Taylor was head of the department of Philosophy prior to Alan and as such must have had a strong hand in his appointment. I know he had enormous pleasure working with Alan and both Alan and Julia became valued and greatly enjoyed friends. My mother Gwen continued to work in the department long after dad’s retirement. Under both leaderships the department was lively, outward facing and committed to forming partnerships within the university and beyond. Meg Taylor

Snooker was always a way of sharing camaraderie for Alan. In later years Alan, David and Peter would play together regularly, sometimes joined by Bryan Magee who liked to stay in Dunedin for a couple of months. Later Iveta, Sheila and I would join them and go to dinner. It was the last iteration of a long, genial tradition of philosophical chat followed by a meal, echoing the Philosophy Department seminars which many staff and students will celebrate. Now all of those men have gone and all are sorely missed. Remembering Alan with great warmth; those were the days, my friend.

Prof Musgrave was a significant influence in my life. His way of thinking taught me an approach that continues to help me navigate through life in all its aspects. I am ever-grateful to him. His legacy is a proud one.

Vale Professor Musgrave.

My condolences and best wishes to the whole family. Alan was a good friend to the Durrant family, and colleague to my father, from the start of his time in Dunedin. On his achievements as a scholar and an administrator I know there will be many paying tribute.