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Aristotle's concept of imperfect friendship
Aristotle's concept of imperfect friendship
Aristotle's view on friendship
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Although, both Aristotle’s books VIII and IX contain some of the similar information dealing with backgrounds of friendship; it breakdowns the meaning and knowledge of each friendship and how it counteract against the other one. However, in book VIII he clarifies the difference between the three types of friendships: utility, pleasure, and goodness. Book VIII distinguishes details about how the friendships counteract with each other, he describes the connection among friendship, the community, and the political aspect of the constitutions. He also describes the political constitutions view of how one should act when dealing with the law. Book IX vivid the key points of friendship as Aristotle gives a more constructive outline on the terms
and concepts in Book VIII. Aristotle’s main points is how one should receive the friendship, self-love, and understanding the misleading factors that can cause a person to feel betrayed. Aristotle’s argument of friendship, coupled with his earlier argument of happiness seems to imply two difficult contradictions. Foremost, if have friends that has the same qualities as our own we admire in our self, we will think more about self-love being important. Additionally if we think that self-love is the more important and the person happy from within then that person does not need any friends at all.
Friendship can be debated as both a blessing and a curse; as a necessary part of life to be happy or an unnecessary use of time. Friends can be a source of joy and support, they can be a constant stress and something that brings us down, or anywhere in between. In Book 9 of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses to great lengths what friendship is and how we should go about these relationships. In the short story “Melvin in the Sixth Grade” by Dana Johnson, we see the main character Avery’s struggle to find herself and also find friendship, as well as Melvin’s rejection of the notion that one must have friends.
Aristotle argues that friendship is a vital part of life. It serves not only as a means to bond individuals together, but also a necessity in achieving overall happiness. Aristotle comments on the various types of friendships that exist, and the role they each play in society. He explains three overarching types; utility, pleasure, and complete friendship. Yet, with family, friendship is different than it is with companionship. As Aristotle states in his piece, Nicomachean Ethics on friendship in families, “they all seem to depend on paternal friendship” (Aristotle, 1161b18). In The Aeneid, Aeneas and Anchises’ relationship, perfectly embodies this. The father son bond does not distinctly resemble one of the three types, rather it is a friendship in of itself; a paternal friendship.
Aristotle presents his view of the mutual desire for good in others, or Friendship in his work, The Nicomachean Ethics. He asserts that friendship comes in three types, Virtue Friendship, Use Friendship, and Pleasure Friendship. He distinguishes Virtue Friendship as the perfect friendship, leaving Use Friendship and Pleasure friendship as deficient friendships. C.S. Lewis presents his view of friendship, which is motivated by appreciation love, in his book The Four Loves in a manner seeming to correspond to Aristotle’s concept of Virtue Friendship. Lewis also presents his perception of Companionship, which seems to correspond to Aristotle’s notion of Use and Pleasure Friendships. Lewis presents a more modern and seemingly accurate rehabilitation
Everyone in life develops at least one friendship in their lifetime, some stronger than others. In some cases a friend might ask for a favor that would be considered immoral. Cicero and Montaigne express their opinions toward this situation and how a true friend would act through the story of Blossius and Tiberius Gracchus. Both come to the same conclusion but they have different reasons as to why they hold that position.
II In Books VIII and IX, Aristotle discusses the role of friendship in the good life.
Aristotle also goes into depths in his beliefs of the relation between love and friendship. He realizes that with friendship a good-self lover will easier forfeit his money, if, in return, his friend profits. “Excellent person labors for his friends.” (Senay, Suzanne. Canadian Scholars’ Press: Custom Coursebook Series. “Philosophy of Love and Sex – Second Edition.” pg. 33, 11.57) Thus, they have an easier time letting go of mat...
Explain the place of God in Aristotle’s view of the world. How does Aristotle think that we can know that God exists? What role does God play in explaining why things in the world exist and behave the way they do? How persuasive do you find Aristotle’s account of these matters?
Aristotle first explains what all entail friendship. That it is a feeling similar to that of necessity and a good overall pleasure-filled feeling, though some like me may disagree on this. Friendship is that which consists of a given mutual feelings towards one another. These feelings would consist of goodwill. Then Aristotle continues on to the three kinds of friendship. The first kind of friendship is that being one based on utility. At this point this is where both people coming together would gain some sort of benefit from one another. The second kind of friendship is one that is based on pleasure. This is where both people
Aristotle wrote on many subjects in his lifetime but one of the virtues that he examines more extensively is friendship. Aristotle believes that there are three different kinds of friendship: utility, pleasure, and virtuous friendships. He also argues that a real friendship should be highly valued because it is a complete virtue and he believes it to be greater than honor and justice. Aristotle suggests that human’s love of utility and pleasure is the only reason why the first two types of friendships exist. Aristotle also argues that humans only set up these types of relationships for personal gain. But when he speaks of the virtuous friendships, Aristotle states that it is one of the greatest attainments one can achieve.
This is when the three types of friendships come in. He also stated that people like this are rare because only a few people have the capacity for this type of friendship.(pg.122 s6) He says people can have a lot of friends, but there is always a closer connection to someone. A friendship takes a long time to build and requires a lot of time. Lastly, he state that friendships go way beyond justice, where there is a friendship, justice is not necessary, yet where there is justice friendship is justice is still necessary. He also says that friends must live together to make a friendship or else they only really have goodwill. Lastly, Aristotle talks about friendships being higher than justice, he argues that the love in a friendship is higher in honor, also that people value being loved than loving. People who honor will be more likely to seek out either flattery or those who have more power than they may gain through these
Courageous and admirable with noble qualities defines a heroine. In Aristotle’s Poetics he describes a tragic hero as a character who is larger than life and through fate and a flaw they destroy themselves. Additionally, Aristotle states excessive pride is the hubris of a tragic hero. The hero is very self-involved; they are blind to their surroundings and commit a tragic action. A tragedy describes a story that evokes sadness and awe, something larger than life. Furthermore, a tragedy of a play results in the destruction of a hero, evoking catharsis and feelings of pity and fear among the audience. Aristotle states, "It should, moreover, imitate actions which excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation." (18) For a tragedy to arouse fear, the audience believes similar fate might happen to them and the sight of the suffering of others arouses pity. A tragedy's plot includes peripeteia, anagnorisis, hamartia and catharsis. Using Aristotle’s criteria, both characters in Oedipus The King and The Medea share similar qualities that define a tragic hero such as being of noble birth, having excessive pride, and making poor choices. They both gain recognition through their downfall and the audience feels pity and fear.
Aristotle begins Book II chapter 1 by saying, “Virtues arise in us neither by nature nor against nature. Rather, we are by nature able to acquire them, and we are completed through habit” (page 18). If we activate and experience an activity we will began to learn that activity by practicing it over and over. As we said in our notes, we can acquire these by habit, training, repetition and practice. Aristotle then goes on to say, “For we learn a craft by producing the same product that we must produce when we have learned it; we become builders, for instance, by building… brave by doing brave actions” (page 19). I think what Aristotle is trying to say here is that experience is what makes us into something. We cannot become a harpist if we don’t
Aristotle seems to have two intentions in his Nicomachean Ethics Book 1. Those being, to make a practical guide to ethical living in a way that one could actually implement in his own life, and more importantly, to find the highest possible good. The book starts by analyzing human action, by saying that all human actions, “Every skill and every inquiry, and similarly every action and rational choice…” will seek an end, or a goal. “…and so the good has been aptly described as that at which everything aims.” (Crisp:1.1 I094a) He claims that the end is an end because it is good, so much that he refers to this end as the “good” and uses the terms interchangeably throughout the publishing. The Greek term for this is “telos”, which is defined as
According to Aristotle’s classification, friendship can be divided into three levels. Friendship based on utility, based on pleasure and based on wishing good for each other. Friendship based on utility is a type of superficial friendship that people become friends solely due to the benefits
Aristotle made contributions to logic, physics, biology, medicine, and agriculture. He redesigned most, if not all, areas of knowledge he studied. Later in life he became the “Father of logic” and was the first to develop a formalized way of reasoning. Aristotle was a greek philosopher who founded formal logic, pioneered zoology, founded his own school, and classified the various branches of philosophy.