Friendship: The Importance of Trust Essay

There are over six billion people on Earth today. Each of those people has countless relationships, which extend further into an immense network of relations among thousands of individuals. These relations can be romantic, professional, unconditional, mutual, or the strongest of all, friendship. Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more beings. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, and affection and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism.

According to Aristotle, one can experience three different types of friendship. The first type is a friend who is used for utilitarian purposes. Aristotle, however, quickly dismisses this type. As an example, Aristotle explains that one could never be friends with wine; while wine is satisfying to the person drinking the wine, no person ever wishes wine good fortune (Aristotle, 32). In order for a relationship between two people to be considered a friendship, one must want good things for the person who they consider their friend and vice versa (Aristotle, 32). Aristotle continues to describe another type of friendship, which is friendship for pleasure. According to Aristotle, young adults are most likely to pursue pleasure-related friendships, because the young are more likely to live to please their emotions; they develop friendships and erotic relationships quickly (Aristotle, 33). Aristotle notes that since young people make decisions based on their emotions, they are quick to change passions, friendships, and lovers (Aristotle, 33). Although both parties receive equal pleasure in this type of friendship, Aristotle says that it is not a complete type of friendship because it is short-lasting (Aristotle, 33). Aristotle considers only one type of friendship to be complete, and that is friendship that is devoted to the other person’s virtue. This type of friendship, Aristotle says, is a friendship that is developed slowly and infrequently; this is the only type of

Both have something the other wants. These friendships do not last very long as once the buyer is no longer useful to the salesman, or visa versa, the connection is severed and the friendship ceases to be. Friendships of utility are common among old people, for in old age people pursue the useful rather than the pleasant.

Friendship is a key aspect of life. They are your support system, who you go to in time of need, who you share memories with that can last a lifetime. In today’s society, many friendships are broken up between friends because of trust issues, or the lack of positivity that may be spread through the group.

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.

Friendship meant placing the other person and their desires above their

Friendships bond together for many different reasons. Consumer friendship is short lived like a drug and dies out when the pleasure high is gone. Entrepreneurial friendship is all about making the money. When the profit goes down so does the partnership. True friendship is a long lasting often lifetime journey of sharing each other's joys and sorrows by just being there for each other without thinking of yourself.

“‘...a misunderstanding of the very notion of friendship in an age when ‘friend’ is used as a verb...the authenticity of one’s relationships has an enormous impact on one’s health and well-being… ‘It’s easier to say what friendship is not and, foremost, it is not instrumental.’” Friendship in this day and age is automatic or online. Friendship should not be unauthentic in a way where it can impact a person’s well-being or health. The connection between two friends needs to be personal and not through a phone or tablet screen. In the 21st century, the word ‘friend’ is being used as a verb and not as a compliment or label.

In my opinion, loyalty is one of if not the most important quality of a friendship. A friend is someone who stands by you. They are always there for you no matter what. If someone leaves in a time of hardships, they were never truly a friend. Hamlet has two great examples of friendship that happen to fall on opposite ends of the loyalty spectrum.

I do have to agree with Aristotle when he state states that Goodness/virtue is the best kind of friendship, and that it is the most “successful” type of friendship. I agree with this because with Utility and Pleasure they are not exactly what you would call a true friendship. With these two kinds, they both only work for a short period of time when at least one of the people involved is gaining

They are all merely acquaintances but in some way or another, they may give you something you want or say something you need to hear; they are benefitting you and that is why you maintain a relationship with them. Then again, the moment you decide you hate McDonald’s because Big Macs make you fat, for instance, this would end your utility friendship with the McDonald’s lady because she no longer obtains anything you desire. The ability to easily lose one’s utility friendship is what closely relates it to the friendship of pleasure.

Friendship is a necessary aspect of every human’s life. Friends will not let other friends make bad decisions and will expect others to do the same for them. Trust can be proven to others by doing the right thing even when one is not asked. If others know that one can handle the responsibility and can manage to do the right thing, they will not hesitate in providing support and friendship. However, when the trust between two people have been broken, the friendship and trust is also broken.

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

In the book Aristotle and the Philosophy of Friendship, (based off the Nicomachean Ethics) the author, Pangle, informed the audience that Aristotle believe in three different types of friendships based off three different types of motives: Friendships of Utility, Friendships of Pleasure, and Perfect Friendship. He identifies these types of friendships as different types of sources of affection that are lovable as the good, the pleasant, and the useful. Before analyzing Aristotle three types of friendships we must first understand what he meant by friendship. During Aristotle’s rein friendship was commonly known as the love one person had for another. Philia, brotherly love, was essential

The pleasures gained from enjoying another’s company in a friendship vary in age, gender and, even more specifically, in individuals. Where a young child may experience a strong liking for his or her companion’s presence on multiple occasions, an adult will be content with one solid interaction. The transition from childhood to adulthood also alters the level of comfort one feels within a friendship. As one ages, one becomes more sensitive to the actions of those around them and will quickly eliminate a friend if his or her doings are not favored. (Doyle, Smith 5) This assessment is a clear indication of how Aristotle emphasizes the benefit of comfort in a relationship