“Friendship is one of the most indispensable requirements of life,” says Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics. But, adds Alasdair MacInytre, it’s also “difficult and often enough impossible—especially under the conditions characteristic of contemporary modernity.”
Today on HeightsCast, long-time colleagues (and friends!) Austin Hatch and Tom Steenson reflect on the nature of friendship, and why it was chosen as the theme for the 2026 Convivium Conference for Teaching Men, hosted by The Heights Forum this November.
What is the value of friendships among fellow faculty? What are the ingredients of that friendship? How should individual teachers seek it? How can school leaders foster it? And how might the students benefit?
Mr. Hatch and Mr. Steenson begin to scratch the surface of these questions in preparation for the deep-dive at this year’s Convivium. If you’d like to join us, registrations, essays for the conference companion, and proposals for breakout sessions are now being accepted.
Chapters:
7:42 Aristotle and Cicero on friendship
12:46 Teaching: a shared life
16:09 Friendship: shared work, shared mission
20:31 Time constraints to friendship
24:50 Faculty friendship’s effect on students
32:41 Maintaining culture as the school grows
38:34 Education: a raising of friends
44:24 Best practices for school leaders, individual teachers
Links:
De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture Keynote: Is Friendship Possible? featuring Alasdair MacInytre
“Economy and Pleasure” in The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry
Also on the Forum:
Faculty of Friends: Making Schools into Communities featuring Tom Cox
Friendship for Fathers: John Cuddeback on Living and Teaching the Art featuring Dr. John Cuddeback
On Hiring Teachers: Drafting a Faculty of Friends featuring Alvaro de Vicente