Two Years of Shared Curiosity
Orienting ourselves in the Learn Vedanta Substack Community
Dear readers of Learn Vedanta Substack,
With June just about a month and a half away, we're approaching a small, significant milestone: almost two years ago, this space for exploration was born. It feels like yesterday! It has been, and continues to be, an incredible journey that I have tried to nurture day after day with all possible passion, commitment, and dedication. The goal has always been to create a small, living, intercultural, and cross-disciplinary cultural hub, a place where philosophy, spirituality, science, art, and culture could freely converse.
More than just a celebration of the platform (although, let's admit it, there's a pinch of satisfaction!), I'd like to use this moment to do something slightly different: to orient. This is particularly intended for those who might have stumbled upon this Substack by chance while exploring, but also for those who were personally invited by me to subscribe via newsletter.
Being a newsletter, it's natural: surely many might have deleted the initial invitation or unsubscribed over time. It's part of the process. But the beautiful thing, which I see from the platform's insights, is that a solid majority of you have faithfully remained on board and continue to follow the posts regularly. This is truly encouraging!
It is precisely to give you an idea of the stimulating context you find yourselves in, whether you are long-time readers or newcomers, that I thought of sharing a glimpse of our intellectual "neighbourhood." By analysing (in a completely anonymous and aggregated way, I want to emphasise!) who has interacted with some of the recent posts published here (this is just a partial snapshot based on the last 5 articles, not the entire, wonderful community!), a fascinating picture emerges.
Without mentioning any specific names, for obvious and necessary privacy reasons, it is truly wonderful and stimulating to see that this conversation reaches people embedded in the most varied contexts: from renowned universities (with faculty and researchers from Departments of Philosophy, Religious Studies, Computer Science, Neuroscience, Classics and Modern Languages, Social Sciences, Business Schools), to cultural organizations, from think tanks focused on AI and digital ethics to European government bodies dealing with these issues, from film production companies and literary agencies, to scientific research centers.
To give you a more concrete idea of this "mosaic" of readers, I have tried to group some of these institutions by geographical area, specifying the field where possible:
Europe:
Universities & Research Centers: University of Cambridge (UK - e.g., Philosophy, Asian Studies, Computer Lab, Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence), Pontifical Gregorian University (Italy - Philosophy), Utrecht University (Netherlands - e.g., Philosophy, Religious Studies), Sapienza University of Rome (Italy - e.g., Philosophy, Italian Studies, Oriental Studies), University of Oslo (Norway - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Classics, History of Art and Ideas - IFIKK), University of Hradec Králové (Czech Rep. - Faculty of Philosophy), Stockholm University (Sweden - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Oxford (UK - e.g., Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Religion, Oxford Internet Institute), University Suor Orsola Benincasa Naples (Italy - Communication Sciences), SOAS University of London (UK - African and Oriental Studies), University of York (UK - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Edinburgh (UK - e.g., Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, Asian Studies), KU Leuven (Belgium - e.g., Higher Institute of Philosophy), Cardiff University (UK - e.g., School of English, Communication and Philosophy), Sorbonne Université / CNRS (France - e.g., Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6 - LIP6, AI focus), Charles University (Czech Rep. - Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy), University of Liverpool (UK - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Tartu (Estonia - Inst. of Philosophy and Semiotics), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Germany - Inst. of Philosophy, Berlin School of Mind and Brain), Politecnico di Milano (Italy - Dept. of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, AI focus), Queen's University Belfast (UK - School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics), Heidelberg University (Germany - Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Psychosocial Studies), Umeå University (Sweden - Dept. of Computing Science), Birkbeck, University of London (UK - Dept. of Philosophical Studies), University of Turin (Italy - Dept. of Oriental Languages and Cultures), University of Glasgow (UK - School of Humanities, Philosophy), Central European University (Austria - Dept. of Philosophy), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece - Dept. of Philosophy and History of Science), John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (Poland - Faculty of Philosophy), University of Valencia (Spain).
Organizations, Think Tanks & Institutions (AI/Digital focus where indicated): European Commission (various departments & directorates, strong focus on AI Strategy & Digital Policy), AlgorithmWatch (Germany - NGO on algorithmic processes & AI), IRCAI - International Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (Slovenia, under UNESCO auspices - global AI focus), Philosophy and Technology Network (Journal/Network).
Cultural Entities & Creative Companies: Vivo Film (Italy), Indigo Film (Italy), Tempesta Film (Italy), The Buddhist Society (UK), Films du Losange (France), Unifrance (France), CinemaUndici (Italy), PMR Records (UK), EMD Music.
North America:
Universities & Research Centers: Harvard University (USA - various depts: FAS - e.g., Philosophy, South Asian Studies, East Asian Languages & Civilizations; HBS - Business School; Harvard Cyber Law; SEAS - Engineering and Applied Sciences), Cornell University (USA - e.g., Humanities Depts., Sciences), University of Maine (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Communication Studies), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA - USA - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Humanities), University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB - USA, e.g., Dept. of Spanish/Portuguese, Philosophy), University of Minnesota (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of New Mexico (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Massachusetts (UMass - Amherst, e.g., Dept. of Philosophy), Bucknell University (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Notre Dame (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of British Columbia (Canada - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Asian Studies), Princeton University (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Idaho (USA - Dept. of Politics and Philosophy), University of Connecticut (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), San Francisco State University (SFSU - USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Iowa (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), San Jose State University (SJSU - USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Alberta (Canada - Dept. of Philosophy), Stanford University (USA - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Religious Studies Center, Human-Centered AI Institute), Michigan State University (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Delaware (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Toronto (Canada - Dept. of Philosophy, Centre for Ethics), St. Olaf College (USA - Dept. of Religion and Philosophy), Johns Hopkins University (USA - e.g., Berman Institute of Bioethics, Humanities/Medicine Depts.), University of Illinois (USA - e.g., Dept. of Philosophy, Beckman Institute), Memorial University of Newfoundland (Canada), UC Berkeley (USA - Dept. of Philosophy, Berkeley AI Research - BAIR), Boston College (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), Yale University (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI - USA - Dept. of Humanities & Arts), University of Utah (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Missouri (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), California State University Northridge (CSUN - USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Texas at Austin (USA - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Central Arkansas (UCA - School of Communication, Philosophy), Georgetown University (USA - Dept. of Philosophy).
Organisations, Think Tanks, Agencies: New America (Think Tank), Forethought.org, HFPO, Epoch Films (Production Company), The Gernert Company (Literary Agency), Anjali Singh Agency (Literary Agency), Triangle House (Literary Agency), Vedanta Society of New York.
Asia:
Universities & Research Centers: Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong - Dept. of Philosophy), Aligarh Muslim University (India - Dept. of Philosophy), Khon Kaen University (Thailand - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences), Chulalongkorn University (Thailand - Faculty of Arts, Philosophy), University of Hyderabad (India - School of Humanities, Centre for Neural and Cognitive Sciences), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU - India - School of Social Sciences, Philosophy), IIT Bombay (India - Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, also focus on AI/Interaction Design), Education University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Seoul National University (South Korea - Dept. of Philosophy), Nanjing University (China - Dept. of Philosophy), University of Calicut (India - Dept. of Philosophy), Ashoka University (India - Dept. of Philosophy), Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia - Faculty of Philosophy), Korea University (South Korea - Dept. of Philosophy), Sri Jayewardenepura University (Sri Lanka - Dept. of Philosophy), Kamala Nehru College (Univ. of Delhi - India), Nanyang Technological University (NTU - Singapore - School of Humanities), Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel - Dept. of Mathematics and Philosophy).
Organisations & Institutes: Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI - India), Aapti Institute (India - Technology & Society Think Tank), Cort (Korea).
Oceania:
Universities: Australian National University (Australia - School of Philosophy), University of Otago (New Zealand - Dept. of Philosophy), Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand - School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations), University of Melbourne (Australia - School of Historical and Philosophical Studies).
Creative Companies: Matchbox Pictures (Australia - Production Company).
Africa:
Universities: University of Pretoria (South Africa - Dept. of Philosophy), University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa - Dept. of Philosophy, Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research), University of Lagos (Nigeria - Dept. of Philosophy).
South America:
Universities: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Chile - Institute of Philosophy), University of São Paulo (Brazil - Dept. of Philosophy), Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina (Argentina - Faculty of Philosophy), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (Lima - Dept. of Humanities, Philosophy).
Seeing this incredible variety is a source of great stimulation and, I admit, also a bit of emotion. It confirms the idea (and the hope!) that reflections on Vedanta, philosophy, science, and art can truly create unexpected bridges and fruitful dialogues between seemingly distant worlds.
A final note on context:
I believe this snapshot of the community is also useful for another reason. Sometimes, I directly invite high-profile academics or professionals, perhaps encountered virtually through these lists, to participate in more in-depth conversations (like interviews for the associated podcast). Some accept with enthusiasm, resulting in valuable exchanges, such as those with:
Prof. William Franke from Cornell University (find our chat here: https://cristianoluchinivedanta.substack.com/p/a-comparative-exploration-of-dantes)
The Pakistani cultural titan Mustansar Hussain Tarar (podcast here: https://cristianoluchinivedanta.substack.com/p/interviewing-a-cultural-titan-a-podcast)
Dr. Jayashankar Krishnamurthy, Director of the Vedanta Institute in Hyderabad, India, and Prof. Tim O'Keefe, an expert in Hellenistic philosophies from Georgia State University, USA (dialogue here: https://cristianoluchinivedanta.substack.com/p/a-dialogue-between-vedanta-and-epicureanism)
These are just a few examples; if you're curious, you can find several other fascinating podcast interviews in the Learn Vedanta Substack archive!
Other times, however, invitations are declined. And that's okay; it's normal and legitimate: perhaps they don't know me, lack time, or don't immediately recognise the platform. The fact that I hold a master's degree but am not a tenured academic (I don't have a PhD in philosophy or otherwise) might legitimately raise some initial hesitation in very formal contexts. There's no controversy in this; it's part of the normal flow of things.
Sharing this glimpse of the network following Learn Vedanta Substack also serves this purpose: to provide a clearer picture of the vibrant and cross-disciplinary context in which I operate. Perhaps, for those who declined an invitation in the past due to a lack of information, reading this post today might help them better understand the environment and the community animating this space.
Thank you infinitely for being here, for your curiosity, your time, and your support (whether free or paid, every reader is precious!).
Let's continue this fascinating journey together!
Ad maiora!
With gratitude,
Cristiano
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