Raimond Gaita | |
|---|---|
| Born | Raimund Gaita (1946-05-14)14 May 1946 (age 78) Dortmund,Westphalia, Germany |
| Notable work | Romulus, My Father |
| Spouse | Yael Gaita |
| Era | Contemporary philosophy |
Main interests | Moral philosophy |
Raimond "Rai" Gaita (bornRaimund Joseph Gaita; 14 May 1946) is a German-bornAustralianphilosopher andwriter, best known for his 1998 autobiography about his early life, titledRomulus, My Father. He was foundation professor of philosophy at theAustralian Catholic University, and professor ofmoral philosophy atKing's College London.
Raimond Joseph Gaita[1] (born Raimund) was born inDortmund,Westphalia, Germany, on 14 May 1946, to a Yugoslav-born Romanian father, Romulus Gaiță (28 December 1922 – May 1996) and a German mother, Christine ("Christel") Anna Dörr (16 November 1928 – 1958).[2] In Germany, from 1942 to 1945, Romulus was employed as a smith and metal worker.[2] The Gaita family migrated to Australia fromYugoslavia[3] in April 1950, just before Raimond turned four.[4]
The family lived in an isolated shack in theVictorian countryside. His father, along with his father's best friend Pantelimon Hora,[5] were strong moral influences during his childhood. His mother suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness, which caused her to bepromiscuous, and she started a relationship with Hora's brother. Raimund was exposed to several traumas as a child, including the suicide of his mother in 1958.[3]
He attended Baringhup Primary School,St. Patrick's College, Ballarat, andMelbourne High School inMelbourne, graduating in 1963. In 1968 he graduated from theUniversity of Melbourne (BA Hons, Philosophy), before earning an MA (First Class Honours) there in 1972.[1]
In 1983 he received aPhD from theUniversity of Leeds in England.[1]
From 1970 to 1972 Gaita lectured inphilosophy,Melbourne Teachers' College, and the following year moved to England and started work as a tutor atLeeds University, which he did until 1975. From 1976 he lectured at theUniversity of Kent at Canterbury, before being appointed toKing's College London in 1977, a position he maintained for 12 years until 1999.[1]
During this time, he was appointed Foundation Research Professor of Philosophy at the Institute ofAdvanced Research at theAustralian Catholic University (ACU) in 1993, a title he retained 1998, becoming Foundation Professor of Philosophy, at ACU from 1999 until 2011. Also from 1999 to 2011, he was Professor of Moral Philosophy at King's College London London.[1]
In 2012 he was appointedemeritus professor of moral philosophy atKing's College London, as well as professorial fellow in theMelbourne Law School and at the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne.[6] TFrom 2019, he has been Honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School.[1]
He regards philosophy as avocation rather than a career.[5]
The story of his childhood and the lives of Gaita's family members and close friends is told in his memoirRomulus, My Father. He wrote it over a few weeks after Gaita gave the eulogy at his father's funeral, and after its publication in 1998 it became an instant bestseller.[3]
He has also writtenmany books and articles on moral philosophy.[6]
In November 2023, he publishedJustice And Hope: Essays, Lectures and Other Writings, in which he covers topics fromDonald Trump toasylum seekers in Australia toreconciliation,[7][8] Edited byScott Stephens, some of the writings in this collection date from the 1990s, but all are relevant to today's world. With this book he hoped to reach the younger generation and show that "the world is good despite all the suffering in it".[9] He dedicated the book to his grandchildren.[10]
As apublic intellectual, Gaita has contributed to public debate aboutreconciliation,collective responsibility, the role of morality in politics,the Holocaust,genocide,crimes against humanity, and educational topics.[6]
Until around 2015, Gaita hosted a series of public lectures given by other philosophers, first at Australian Catholic University and then at the University of Melbourne, called "The Wednesday Lectures". He has a strong belief in having conversations with others "not when you've done your thinking, but in order to think".[11][8]
In 2018, he held a seminar for Year 11 and 12 philosophy students atMelbourne Grammar School, following an earlier visit during which he discussedRomulus, My Father with Year 9 students.[12]
In May 2024The Conversation published an essay based on the recent Jim Carlton Integrity Lecture delivered by Gaita at the Melbourne Law School, about the moral and philosophical elements pertaining to theIsraeli-Palestine War.[10]
Romulus My Father won theNettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction in theVictorian Premier's Literary Award, and was shortlisted for theQueensland Premier's Literary Awards for Contribution to Public Debate, the Braille Book of the Year, and theNational Biography Award. It was nominated by theNew Statesman, London, as one of the best books of 1999 and, in 2000, byThe Australian Financial Review as one of the ten best books of the decade.[1] It was published byText Publishing in itsText Classics series in 2017.[1]
After a lot of persistence on the part of Roxburgh, the story was made into aa feature film of the same name in 2007 byRichard Roxburgh.Robert Connolly andJohn Maynard produced the film,Eric Bana played Romulus, andKodi Smit-McPhee, then aged nine, was selected to play the young Raimund – a role for which he won theAACTA Award for Best Young Actor.[3]
A Common Humanity: Thinking about Love and Truth and Justice was nominated byThe Economist as one of the best books of 2000.[6]
The Philosopher's Dog was shortlisted for theNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, 2003 andThe Age Book of the Year, 2003.[6] It was nominated by theKansas City Star as one of the ten best books of 2005.[1]
Rai is married to Yael Gaita, and each of them have two daughters from prior marriages. One of his step-daughters is Michelle Lesh, and one of his daughters is Katerina. In 2004 Rai and Yael bought land incentral Victoria, not far from where he lived as a child, and Raimund found that the move brought back memories of the pain he suffered as a child.[3] Yael is Jewish and Israeli.[10]
Gaita was diagnosed withParkinson's disease in late 2021, but continues to live a life governed by his moral convictions. He has been onclimate change rallies in Melbourne with Katerina, despite the discomfort of pouring rain, in an act ofcivil disobedience withExtinction Rebellion.[3]
Gaita said in 2024:[3]
For me to be a moral philosopher is basically to try to understand what this strange thing we call morality is. Ours is a society in which we discuss things. And I think of that as the deepest form of hope.
Many translations ofThe Philosopher's Dog were published, including in Dutch, Korean, Chinese, Turkish, and Portuguese.[1]
