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Aristotle On Friendships
Essays on characteristics of friendship
Aristotle On Friendships
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Final Paper: Friendship
The topic of friendship can be explained in different forms. A friend is an important figure in the life of a human being. Moreover, a person is not limited to any boundaries of friendship. Therefore, they can have people and animals as close and influential characters in their lives. Having a friend leads to a person developing virtues which are rare to get when one is alone or in the midst of strangers. Aristotle helps us to understand the issue of friendship not as an actor but as a living encounter with the right group or partner. It is a situation through which the best of a person is expressed.
Virtue is the positive development which will happen to a person who manages to get a good friend. True friends are always
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Each participant in the friendship finds it as a duty to wish good tidings to the partner and preserve them from any harm. This is the reason why friendship is only possible with live things and not the inanimate ones. The second thing is having goodwill. This happens in that the attitude towards each other is expressed positively. Finally, every person becomes aware of the good aspect of the friend. It would be not fair if you wish the good of a person, has their goodwill, yet they are not aware of all this friendship.
Friendship is categorized into three forms. The first type is the friendship of utility. This is a kind of friendship that is based on the gains that on is getting from the other. Some people are victims of such situations whereby they establish an engagement with a person simply because they are benefiting. The second party must not necessarily be a beneficiary of this relationship. As a characteristic, this type of love is short sustaining since the time for benefiting cannot last forever. Therefore, there comes a time when the two have to part ways. Thus, the relationship is short-lived at all
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Parties have to be concerned with the noble insofar as they are virtuous. Virtuous friends associate with the other person on account of their goodness and resemble each other in their virtues and their moral compasses are aligned. This is different from unequal friendship where the feelings and virtue are not reciprocated making friendships of virtue a unique guide in the pursuit of higher ideals in life.
Types of friendship compare in various ways. First, both the utility and pleasure friendships have a comparison with the complete form of friendship. The complete friendship has the characteristics of the pleasant for of friends. A complete friend has to be pleasing. They have the nature of providing joy and goodness wherever they are and they get the same in return. Therefore, being pleasant is an ingredient that is necessary for complete friends. Also, a good and genuine friend feels obliged to provide. This is the aspect of
Aristotle uses a rather categorical approach to friendship. By making strict delineations and then using examples, he establishes a rather strict definition of friendship that is created along lines of social class. He argues, among other things, that friendship must be between similarly virtuous men of equal standing. In addition, the purest form of friendship, and the one that Aristotle considers the only genuine friendship, involves that of two men and that is free from outside reciprocation.
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
Late one evening, curled up in her nest, Harriet lay thoughtfully reading the last of Aristotle’s model of friendships: the perfect friendship. Though no secret to Harriet, Aristotle presents the idea that it is the most desirable and genuine of the three forms. The foundation of this friendship is not trivial, but instead the relationship is built on a common good and virtuous nature. As Aristotle explains, “those who love for the sake of utility love for the sake of what is good for themselves, and those who love for the sake of pleasure do so for the sake of what is pleasant to themselves.” Aristotle continues, “Perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for those wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good in themselves.” (concluding sentence or two...)
As previously mentioned, Aristotle has identified three different types of friendships. The first is friendship based on utility. This is a friendship in which both parties become involved with each other for their own personal benefit. An example would be a working relationship with an individual. These are people who do not spend much time together, possibly because they do not like each other, and therefore feel no need to associate with one another unless they are mutually useful. They take pleasure from each other’s company just for their own sake. Aristotle uses the elderly and foreigners as examples of friendships based on utility.
II In Books VIII and IX, Aristotle discusses the role of friendship in the good life.
Friendship is an important factor in the life of a human being. Development in human beings requires some aspects of bonding to form a social life. The bonding forms an essential aspect of living referred to as friendship. It forms one of the main theories of human nature. For instance, Aristotle contributed a lot to the philosophy of friendship followed by his counterpart Cicero. Cicero used a metaphor in explaining his understanding of friendship where he referred friendship as the sun of life where apart from wisdom, indicates the best gift God gave to the human fraternity. The paper would focus on philosophical differences and similarities between Cicero and Aristotle understanding of friendship.
Aristotle believes that everyone is in need of some type of friend, he states that “for rich people and those who rule and have power, there seems to be the greatest need for friends.”(page. 144, book VIII) Aristotle believes that we as humans benefit greatly from having friends, no matter who we are or what position we are in wealthy or poor. There are three distinct types of friendship that Aristotle directs his beliefs towards. These three types of friendships include: Utility, pleasure, and Goodness or virtuous friendship. Aristotle believes that friendship is something that is extremely important to have and should be held above many things. Friendship Utility is unlike the friendships of pleasure or goodness because as Aristotle puts it is “for the old” he explains that friendship Utility is a friendship that two people may have where they only communicate with one another for self-benefit or to gain something for one’s self. These two people are not likely to live with each other and at times may not even be nice to th...
I would define friendship as complete trust and love between two people. Many people believe that this kind of behavior is reciprocated between two individuals without any expectations. A friend is someone who also provides you with support and whom you can rely on to celebrate special moments with. A friend also comes with many great attributes; such as loyalty, honesty, compassion, trust, and morality. Today’s friend is viewed as someone who shares happiness, common values, history, and equality with another. For example, Aristotle and Cicero both wrote dialogues about friendship and its significance on mankind. Therefore, the key issues that will be discussed are: their views on the similarities of friendship, the differences between friends,
A friendship relies on the goodness of both people; if goodness is not present the friendship will cease to exist. Cicero uses many different instances in his book Laelius: On Friendship to explain how a friendship relies on the goodness of both people to survive. First he starts by talking about the types of friendships that come to an end when goodness ceases to exist. He explains that some friendships rely on advantages, but these friendships never last. He states that “if advantages were what kept friendships together, the removal of that advantage would mean that the friendship itself would cease to exist” (194). A friendship should rely on the qualities of both people, and not on the advantages you get from them. Cicero explains that “when a man shows kindness and generosity, his motive in doing so is not just too exact repayment” (193). Next he talks about friendships that fail due to one person asking too much of the other. He brings in the example of Tiberius Gracchus, “As for Tiberius Gracchus, when he was disrupting the government, we saw how Quintus
Let us first examine the similarities of friendship with that of happiness and virtue, which we discussed previously is the most necessary part of a happy life. Aristotle describes happiness by saying “happiness is most choiceworthy of all the goods (1097b17-18).” His idea of choiceworthy is something we choose “because of itself, never because of something else (1097b).” Friendship is seen as similar to happiness when Aristotle describes friendship as “choiceworthy in its own right (1159a27).” Proven earlier, virtue is necessary for a happy life because “happiness is a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with virtue (1099b26-27).” Since virtue is such an integral part of happiness, the similarity between friendship and virtue is relevant to the relationship between friendship and a happy life. Aristotle describes virtues as “states (1106a14),” and at the same time describes friendship as “a state (1157b30),” as well. He goes on further to say, “Just as, in the case of virtues, some people are called good in their state of character, others good in their activity, the same i...
Friendship is a bond that brings society together as a whole. The article, “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May describes six friendships that pertain to life. In the Of Mice and Men excerpt, the reader meets two characters, George and Lennie, and their friendship is shown. Of the six friendships, in “Friendship in an Age of Economics,” the true friendship, developed by Aristotle, is used in Of Mice and Men through George and Lennie’s relationship because of how they act towards each other, and how they take care of one another in many different ways. First, the article introduces the audience to friendships described by Aristotle, and Todd May.
Kant deemed this type of friendship as a “pseudo friendship” meaning a not so genuine friendship. This is the most questionable type of friendship due to the basis in which it is built upon. It involves the pleasure we develop from each other 's company and not from each other 's happiness. People of the same background and profession in life are less likely to form such a friendship than people of different careers. Kant goes on to say “one scholar will not form a friendship of taste with another; because their capacities are identical; they cannot entertain or satisfy one another, for what one knows, the other knows too. But a scholar can form such a friendship with a businessman or a soldier”. For an example, a lawyer may not inquire friendship from a baseball player but he will inquire a friendship from a doctor. Kant then explains that “Provided the scholar is not a pedant and the businessman not a blockhead, each of them can talk entertainingly to the other about his own subject. I am not attracted to another because he has what I already possess, but because he can supply some want of mine by supplementing that in which I am lacking. In other words, variety and not uniformity is the source of the friendship of taste." Certain people are able to find happiness out of another persons experiences in which they lack. They thrive off of the conversation which they know little about to enhance
The friendship of utility is described as a shallow one that can be “easily dissolved”. He views them like this because he states this type of friendship is easily lost. The only true reason these relationships exist according to Aristotle is the idea that both or one of the people has something to offer that the other needs. The bond between the two people is held as long as it is beneficial to either one or both of the individuals in the friendship. So although the people may smile at each other or make small talk if they happen to run across each other’s path, no true relationship is present. If the bond is broken and one or both individuals are no longer being benefitted through the relationship, it ends. I agree with Aristotle’s idea of this specific type of friendship. The utility friendship appears to be just a normal acquaintance. In that case, that leaves a wide number of people this encompasses. There will be a massive amount of utility friendships one will obtain in his or her lifetime d...
Friendship is the most wonderful relationship that anyone can have. Ideally a friend is a person who offers love and respect and will never leave or betray us. Friends can tell harsh truths when they must be told. There are four different types of friends: True friends, Convenient friends, Special interest friends, and historical friends. To have friendship is to have comfort. In times of crisis and depression, a friend is there to calm us and to help lift up our spirits.
When you spend time with friends you will notice that each one has a special personality that is different from anyone else. Friends have different traits and characteristics that create their individual personalities. For example, a good friend will show signs of a sense of humor, great advice, and honesty. Friends are very important to have in our lives because they are the backbone and support system when we face obstacles that are tough in our lives. Furthermore, friends are always there to love and comfort us through those hard times; showing their respect, honesty, loyalty, and care. There are three major types of friends, acquaintances, social friends, and best friends. Individuals inside of these major types has their own characteristics