Grant Tavinor (1973-2025)
Grant Tavinor, senior lecturer in philosophy at Lincoln University in New Zealand, has died.
Dr. Tavinor worked in philosophy of art, especially philosophy of digital technology, including videogames and virtual reality. He is the author of The Art of Video Games (2009) and The Aesthetics of Virtual Reality (2022), among other works, which you can learn more about here and here.
Dr. Tavinor was a member of the faculty at Lincoln for 22 years. He earned his PhD from the University of Auckland and his BA from the University of Otago.
You can read a memorial notice from some of his colleagues here.
Grant Tavinor died on August 13, 2025.
(via Erick Jose Ramirez)
I think it is fair to say that Dr. Tavinor’s work was groundbreaking. A talented and inspiring scholar. RIP and my condolences to his loved ones.
I’m very sorry to hear this. He was a regular participant at the BSA and the ASA, and well-known among us. I, for one, will miss him.
Yes, I agree. His book is what prompted by foray into the aesthetics of (video)games. He will be missed.
Grant was not only brilliant but also an incredibly generous member of the profession. He leaves a lasting legacy through all those he worked with and mentored. My sincere condolences to his family and his colleagues.
I’m so sorry to hear this news. I enjoyed spending time with Grant, and I learned a lot from his work. My condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues.
I am so sorry to hear that. Grant was a great guy and philosopher. We met at the ASA meetings, and were in touch.
Grant was a wonderful person and, for me, an inspiration. He will be terribly missed. My condolences to his family.
This is awful. Grant was a former student of mine and I always liked him though in recent years we have not had all that much contact. I remember in particular one hilarious talk that he gave on the ethics of video gaming in which he started with a litany all the awful things that had virtually gotten up to as a player of Grand Theft Auto. He was moral without being moralistic which is not as common in philosophy as I would like to to be. Condolences to his family.
What a loss. I published Grant’s The Art of Videogames. He was ahead of his time, and a pleasure to work with. Although I only met him in person a few times, he was always friendly and funny, whether IRL or online. My heart goes out to his family.
This is such sad news! I didn’t know him well, but very much enjoyed meeting him at the ASA and regularly teach his work. My condolences to his loved ones.
I bought the French version of the Art of Video Games two weeks before he passed. I was going to write to him to tell him how much I appreciated his work and I regret he never got to see how far it reached.