The Connector is one of the philosopher types I added to Justin Smith's list. This philosopher practises the most general ecology of thought I can imagine, mapping relations across domains, species and scales without flattening the differences between them. It's a network weaver who doesn't untie the knots.
How the word moved
I first put the Connector on the list in January 2024, alongside the other types I thought Smith's six were missing. By June 2025, in the Wystem Architecture essays, I was calling the Connector a trust-maker, which is what coalition building comes down to in practice. In February 2026 the Connector weaves an ontology of entanglement - apples and oranges, scientists and sages, humans and nonhumans - while keeping the fractures visible where alterity needs protecting.
In my words
"This philosopher is a practitioner of the most general ecology of thought, dedicated to mapping relations and tracing links across domains, species, and scales."
from The Planetarity Syllabus. Governing the Planet, Part 3: The Planetary Steward, 26 Feb 2026
Related
- Inherited from Justin E. H. Smith - I built the Connector as a supplement to his six types.
- Related Planetary Steward - The steward is what you get when the Connector joins the other new types in one person.