Timothy Rayner

I grew up in Auckland, New Zealand in the shadow of fifty two volcanoes, an experience relieved by formative stints in Indonesia and the UK. After high school I pursued a musical career until my hormones settled down before enrolling in university to train for an honest job. This was not to be. Philosophy had its hooks in me before I could pronounce ‘existentialism’. The subsequent decade was a blur of deconstructive analysis and Nietzschean critique.

In 1999, my partner and I moved to Sydney, Australia. I got a PhD in philosophy and taught various courses at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. I’ve published academic papers and a book, Foucault’s Heidegger: Philosophy and Transformative Experience (Continuum 2007).

I recently completed my second book, Philosophy for Change, a practical philosophy book based on courses I taught at the Center for Continuing Education, University of Sydney through 2008. The topic of these courses was the art of reflective change. I’m now preparing to teach another eight-week Philosophy for Change course at CCE, starting June, while I shop this book around.

Under the umbrella of Philosophy for Change, I’m working with Simon Robson, an award-winning British animator, on a short film about new internet initiatives to combat global warming. The title of our film is ‘Coalition of the Willing’. In April 2009, Simon and I were invited to the F5 Creativity Festival in New York, were we previewed parts of the film before an enthusiastic audience.

In my spare time I’m writing The Beautiful Soul, a post-apocalyptic thriller about Gen Z Americans living in the wake of an abrupt climate event. I hope to have this novel finished before the end of the world or 2012, whichever comes first.

• If you’d like to contact me, my email address is tim at timrayner dot net.