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Raimond Gaita Raimond Gaita i(A15700 works by)
Born: Established: 1946 Dortmund,
c
Germany,
c
Western Europe, Europe,
;
Gender: Male
Arrived in Australia: 1950
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BiographyHistory

Born in Germany, Raimond Gaita came to Australia with his parents at the age of four, and was brought up largely by his father, near Barninghup, Victoria. He attended the University of Melbourne, gaining a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree and a Master of Arts degree, before undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the University of Leeds (UK). He was appointed Professor of Moral Philosophy at King's College London and Foundation Professor of Philosophy at Australian Catholic University, spending six months of the year at each institution. In 2011 Gaita left both universities returning to King's College as emeritus professor and joined Melbourne University as a professorial fellow.

Gaita has written widely for academic and non-academic publications and has contributed extensively to public discussion of issues such as Mabo, the Stolen Generations, the plight of the universities and the place of morality in politics. His main research interests and publications have been in Ethics and include moral philosophy, political philosophy, epistemology and the philosophy of psychology. His biography of his father, Romulus My Father, was awarded the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Non Fiction - the Nettie Palmer Award - in 1989, was nominated by London's New Statesman as one of the best books of 1999 and has been republished in several languages. A Common Humanity was nominated by the Economist as one of the best books of 2000.

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon After Romulus Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2011 Z1794628 2011 single work autobiography 'In 1998, Raimond Gaita's Romulus, My Father was first published—the story of his father who came to Australia from Europe with his young wife Christine and their four-year-old son after the end of the Second World War. In the isolated landscape of country Victoria, Christine succumbed to mental illness, and a series of tragedies befell the family. Described as 'a profound meditation on love and death, madness and truth, judgment and compassion', Romulus, My Father became an instant classic. Now, thirteen years later, and four years after the release of the film, Raimond Gaita has put together this collection in which he reflects on the writing of the book, the making of the film, his relationship to the desolate beauty of the central Victorian landscape, the philosophies that underpinned his father's relationship to the world and, most movingly, the presence and absence of his mother and his unassuaged longing for her.' (Publisher's blurb)
2012 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Community Relations Commission Award
y separately published work icon The Philosopher's Dog Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2002 Z972283 2002 selected work essay

The author discusses complex questions surrounding our relationships with animals and what our treatment of them says about the human condition. There are also stories of landscape, with reflections on climbers' attitudes towards mountains in terms of respect, gratitude, love, romance, admiration and fear.
Written in a literary style with autobiographical references.

2003 shortlisted The Age Book of the Year Award Non-Fiction Prize
2003 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction
Last amended 24 Jan 2011 10:10:44
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