On Friendship; AI and Humanity; Trump and the Academy; Helen De Cruz

An essay by John Lysaker; events with Shannon Vallor and Sasha Mudd; goodbye from Anthony

Dear all,

I was heartbroken to learn that Helen De Cruz died on 20th June after a lengthy illness. Helen was a great friend of The Philosopher and supported our activities in a multitude of ways. We have included an article that Helen wrote and the recording of an event she participated in below. Helen’s genre-bending and soulful brand of philosophy will be sorely missed.

“Sprezzatura and Wuwei: A Daoist Approach to European Courtly Grace”
by Helen De Cruz

And it is with a different kind of sadness that I leave The Philosopher today after seven years of helping to run it. Despite stepping back as editor-in-chief this time last year, 2025 has ended up being one of the busiest years yet for me, as I have helped to assemble the new management team, ensure that adequate procedural information is in place, and so on. Fortunately, all our hard work has paid off and it is fair to say that the response of the new people involved has exceeded all of our expectations. With Andrés Saenz de Sicilia and Tara Needham now taking over as the Managing Directors, supported by the Managing Editors and the Editorial Board, The Philosopher has never been in a better position. It has been a wonderful journey for me these past years, and I will miss the excitement of helping to oversee the day-to-day operations here. Of course, it remains as difficult as ever to do as much as we do without any funding, so your continued support, whether through becoming a Patreon member or offering a donation, is always immensely appreciated. As I pass the baton, I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us over the years. And I know that Andrés, Tara, and the new team will bring fresh energy, new ideas, and much that is totally unexpected and inspiring.

Your Sunday Read
“It Takes All Kinds: On Friendship”
by John Lysaker

John Lysaker explores the many forms and values of friendship. He explores friendship as a lived interaction and examines the various goods it provides, such as recognition, growth, and care. Rather than ranking friendships, Lysaker argues for their diversity, showing how even imperfect or partial bonds enrich our lives and help shape who we become. He concludes, "Friendships prove better when they multiply and differentiate and so check our limits and metabolise our varied potentials".You can read the article here.

Monday Event: 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm UK/8pm CET
“How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking”
Shannon Vallor in conversation with Audrey Borowski

In this event, Shannon Vallor will make a wide-ranging, prophetic, and philosophical case for what AI could be: a way to reclaim our human potential for moral and intellectual growth, rather than lose ourselves in mirrors of the past. Rejecting prophecies of doom, she encourages us to pursue technology that helps us recover our sense of the possible, and with it the confidence and courage to repair a broken world. Vallor calls us to rethink what AI is and can be, and what we want to be with it. You can find out more and register here.

Tuesday Webinar: 11am PT/2pm ET/7pm UK/8pm CET
“Are Progressives to Blame for Trump’s Attack on Universities?”
Sasha Mudd in conversation with Alexis Papazoglou

Richard Rorty was already warning in the 1990s of the resentment that some voters would soon feel towards “post-modernist professors” and college graduates who were “dictating manners” to the rest of society. Did universities allow political ideology to contaminate their project of open inquiry in the pursuit of knowledge and truth? Did academia become too focused on which canonical figures had to be “cancelled”? And are university professors too removed from the rest of society to be able to understand and engage with the ideas that go beyond their ideological comfort zone? You can find out more and register here.

That’s it for this week. Elinor will be back next week with the final newsletter before the summer break.

So long, friends.
Anthony Morgan