Raimond Gaita

Raimond "Rai" Gaita (born Raimund Joseph Gaita; 14 May 1946) is a German-born Australian philosopher and writer, best known for his 1998 biography about his early life, titled Romulus, My Father. He was foundation professor of philosophy at the Australian Catholic University, and professor of moral philosophy at King's College London.

Early life and education Raimond Joseph Gaita (born Raimund) was born in Dortmund, Westphalia, Germany, on 14 May 1946, to a Yugoslav-born Romanian father, Romulus Gaiță (28 December 1922May 1996) and a German mother, Christine ("Christel") Anna Dörr (16 November 19281958). In Germany, from 1942 to 1945, Romulus was employed as a smith and metal worker.

The family lived in an isolated shack in the Victorian countryside. His father, along with his father's best friend Pantelimon Hora, were strong moral influences during his childhood. His mother suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness, which caused her to be promiscuous, 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.

Career Academia From 1970 to 1972 Gaita lectured in philosophy, Melbourne Teachers' College, and the following year moved to England and started work as a tutor at Leeds University, which he did until 1975. From 1976 he lectured at the University of Kent at Canterbury, before being appointed to King's College London in 1977, a position he maintained for 12 years until 1999. TFrom 2019, he has been Honorary Professorial Fellow at Melbourne Law School. He dedicated the book to his grandchildren.

Other activities As a public intellectual, Gaita has contributed to public debate about reconciliation, collective responsibility, the role of morality in politics, the Holocaust, genocide, crimes against humanity, and educational topics.

In 2018, he held a seminar for Year 11 and 12 philosophy students at Melbourne Grammar School, following an earlier visit during which he discussed Romulus, My Father with Year 9 students.

In May 2024 The 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 the Israeli-Palestine War. ), and others. Yael is Jewish and Israeli.