Aristotle 's Views On Life

As a child, I felt that having friends was the most significant cause in who I am today. Throughout my life I have had many friends who have influenced me in numerous ways, but now most of them have become distant acquaintances. Although the majority

According to Aristotle 's views on friendships he believes that friendship is necessary to live a good life, inspires us to be virtuous, and is a kind of love. Aristotle also believes friendships help people predispose their character and keeps the youth away from errors. Additionally friendship gives support during weakness and helps people be generous and know when they need help. Aristotle views that there are three kinds of friendships, pleasure, utility, and perfect friendships. Pleasure friendships according to Aristotle are typically found in young people. Pleasure friendships are based on the person producing pleasure for the friend. Pleasure friendships tend to end once the person providing the pleasure stops. Utility friendships can be found in young or old people and is based on a person being useful to another. Utility friendships are fulfilling a person 's needs and is based on mutual use. Friendships based on utility typically end if the other person stops being useful. The third friendship is perfect friendship that is found through a state of perfected character. Perfect friendship is motivated by unselfishness and mutual self interest. Friendships that are perfect need to include people that are alike in character, virtue and social station/ equality. Perfect friendships according to Aristotle require time and familiarity. Another requisite is the mastery of self, the friends must know themselves before they know each other.

Within book 8 and 9 of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, he concludes that an excellent friendship is the most choice-worthy good an individual can externally attain (Aristotle 149, 1170a, section 7). However, in chapter 3 of book 8, Aristotle asserts the finest friendships are enduring insofar the individuals are good, and the virtues remain similar. However, his proposal about the similarities of virtues doesn't seem entirely correct since people gradually change over time, but the relationship can continue to be good and the individuals remain close friends. Aristotle would assert that if the virtuous character of the friend were to change, the friendship could potentially dissolve; unless the agent can return their friend to their original state of similarity. This is because his assertion about an enduring friendship requires that the individuals are both good and similar in virtuous behaviour. Nevertheless, this essay aims to argue that friendships are enduring through the means of gaining/building a state of mutual confidence in our friend, rather individuals being similar in virtue.

The first friendship that Aristotle mentions in NE VIII.3. is the friendship of utility. Aristotle’s initial claim about the friendship of utility is that “... those who love each other because of utility do not love each other for themselves but in the virtue of some good which they get from each other (NE VIII.3. 1156a.10-12)”. Here Aristotle is claiming

We are social creatures. We surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends. It is in our nature. We are constantly trying to broaden the circumference of our circle of friends. Aristotle understood the importance of friendship, books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics deal solely with this topic. A modern day definition of a friend can be defined as “one joined to another in intimacy and mutual benevolence independently of sexual or family love”. (Oxford English Dictionary). Aristotle’s view on friendship is much broader than this. His arguments are certainly not flawless. In this essay I will outline what Aristotle said about friendship in the Nichomachaen Ethics and highlight possible

Both philosophers believe that friendship is necessary in human life but both break down into completely different structures. Aristotle has three different views of friendship. The first is a friendship based on utility. A friendship based on utility is a relationship where both people benefit from each other. The second kind of friendship is based on pleasure. A pleasure-based relationship is formed under the likes of personality, looks, or any other quality. The third, and highest form of friendship is based on goodness. This is called a character friendship. A character relationship is based on the goodness of both people, where both parties admire the other person for how good they are and will help them strive for goodness. The first two relationships happen on accident because they are only based on their utility and pleasure, unlike having a relationship with someone that is based on goodness. Utility and pleasure relationships are very short lived because needs, looks, and

This friendship is a bond "between people who are good and alike in virtue" (NE 1156b). They chose to be friends regardless of utility or pleasure because of their similarities. However, they must be at similar points in their quest for virtue, so that one is not a hindrance to the other. Aristotle explains that these kinds of friendships take time to create because it takes time and work to find the right people and then to forge a long-lasting bond. Therefore, a person cannot have a large number of true friends, because they simply do not have enough time. The true friendships, just like true happiness, are end within themselves, and are not used as a means to achieve some other end. These friendships also include love, as people enjoy being loved for its own sake, "and for this reason it would seem it is something better than being honoured and that friendship is chosen for its own sake" (NE, 1159a). Self-sufficient friendships lead to love which is an indication that both parties are closer to true happiness. They have a constant source of enjoyment for no reason other than they enjoy it. This relationship is distinguished from those between relatives, as a parent loves their child because that child is a part of the parent. Similarly, children are fond of parents simply because the parents are their originator. This love is natural and is not achieved, so it does not help a person live virtuously or achieve happiness. Thus, the goal of a friendship is to achieve a state in which both parties are permanently feeling enjoyment which satisfies them emotionally and intellectually, and brings them closer to

Based on Aristotle’s theory, if one’s mental and physical comfort is affected by the unfavorable actions of his or her friend, then how can the company of the friend be enjoyed? When individuals share a level of respect and comfort, they repeatedly partake

When it comes to friendship Aristotle believes without friendship where would not be a life that one would want to live. He also believes that it is a virtue without friendship even a person who is wealthy would not be able to live life. The three concepts that Aristotle focus on are complete friendship, Friendship based on pleasure and friendship based on utility. When it comes to pleasure two people have to come together with common interest of an activity that they both enjoy. For example, one would find more happiness riding a bike with someone then riding a bike alone. A friendship based on utility is a friendship one can benefit out of the relationship. One can benefit from learning a skill while the other is benefiting from gaining experience.

Both Plato and Aristotle were prominent philosophers during their time and even today remain some of the most well-known philosophers ever. Aristotle was a student of Plato’s and Plato’s influence was noticeable throughout Aristotle’s work. Though Aristotle believed and would later teach a lot of Platonic philosophy, that did not mean that he agreed with everything that Plato taught. One thing that Aristotle would critique about Plato’s teaching was his idea of what he called “Forms” and their role in the world. Although both Aristotle and Plato believed that something 's "form" helped classify what it is, I found Aristotle’s understanding of form to be more convincing because he believed that Forms consisted within the one world in which we all already live as opposed to Plato who thought that the world of Forms was separate from the world of everything else. Both men make very compelling points to back up their beliefs, but I just felt Aristotle’s theory was more believable.

A few friends is what Aristotle says to a healthy amount, for man to have is, a few. This may seem relative, but for every man a few can mean anything from two to ten. “Obviously it is not possible for a person to associate with a vast multitude and share himself among many people. Clearly then one cannot have a great number of virtuous friends. ” It would be great if the virtuous man could make friends with as many virtuous men as he encountered. It would be impossible for him to have an effective impact in the lives of others in the friendship or for man to be impacted effectively by others if he spreads himself to thin and has too many friends. It seems to be that man will have more useful friends or friends of utility than virtuous or perfect friends. This is not out of man acting out of selfishness, but more so out of practicality and survival. He may need a friend in this capacity to aid him in a service which he cannot provide for himself. The problem with these useful friends is that they can be at times a distraction to practicing virtue and the pursuit of virtuous

Friendship is integral to interpersonal relationships. Communities cannot be based on justice alone; friendship is the necessary binding agent that holds communities together. It is like the soul which powers the body. However, friendship is not something that appears immediately. The strength of friendship comes from the long-term cultivation of communal bonds. Thus, friendship is the greatest of the external goods. Aristotle explores the virtues, types, and benefits of friendship to explain why it is so precious.

There are plenty of theories on friends and their relationships in history, even during the years of ancient Greece. Based on my research, mix with some of my own views; I have come to realize my own definition of a friend. A friend to me is simply someone who is there to support me, spend time with me, be there for me when I am in need, being someone who I can trust with deep secrets, and make memories with enjoying their presence. At the same time, a friend to me is someone that will never turn their back on me, never attempt to hurt me, never attempt to take advantage of me, and never choose to

One of the philosophers I will choose to analyze will be Aristotle. Aristotle believes that people should always participate in the city-state, and only by being the citizen can a person lead and pursue a life of good quality because he believed that that was the main focus and reason of human life. Although he was a great philosopher, one of the ideas that I chose to discuss was that he believed slaves were necessary to the functionality of a good and working society, and that man is only fully rational if he participates in the city. This would mean that even as a slave, you should be the best slave you could be because you are helping the city thrive however you are in the lowest level. Aristotle believes that men should be in power,

The rule of relationships with other humans is a vital element in the key of having a good life. “For without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” (Aristotle) Aristotle talks about three different