The Definition Of Friendship

What is the meaning of friends? If you ask me, friends are people who cheer for you, always on your side, and you trust with your secrets. To different people, friends have various meanings. I think everyone would agree that a friend will always be there. Your friends aren’t just anyone, your friends are outstanding people who are like family to you.

Friendship, according to Aristotle there are 3 definitions of friendship. Friendship of Utility, “thus friends whose affection is based on utility do not love each other in themselves, but in so far as some benefit accrues to them from each other.” Friendship of Pleasure, “And similarly with those whose friendship is based on pleasure: for instance, we enjoy the society of witty people not because of what they are in themselves, but because they are agreeable to us.” Friendship of the Good. “The perfect form of friendship is that between the good, and those who resemble each other in virtue. For these friends wish each alike the other’s good in respect of their goodness, and they are good in themselves; but it is those who wish the good of their friends for their friends’ sake who are friends in the fullest sense, since they love each other for themselves and not accidentally. Hence the

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

Friendship, something that we all have but something that we may not really understand the true meaning of it. During the reading Thoreau goes into detail of how friends are really not what we think them to be. We often don’t actually have friends but rather just acquaintances or companions. He goes on to explain who are real friends are and why they are our friends and that no one else really is.

Aristotle’s Book 9 of Nicomachean Ethics discusses the importance of friendship in an individual's life. Throughout the book, he hints at this idea of friendship. In Book 8.1, he writes, “In poverty as well as in other misfortunes, people suppose that friends are their only refuge. And friendship is a help to the young, in saving them from error, just as it is also to the old, with a view to the care they require and their diminished capacity for action stemming from their weakness; it is a help also to those in their prime in performing noble actions, for 'two going together' are better able to think and to act.” (N. Ethics 8.1). In other words, Aristotle emphasizes this idea that life is easier when there is a friend to support you; it is difficult

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

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

In Aristotle’s book Nicomachean Ethics, book eight; he talks about three different types of friendship. Aristotle believes in three different types of friendship, the three being utility, pleasure, and good/virtue. Friendship that is based off of utility is good for the sake of some other end. Meaning that people are only friends with one another because they both benefit from it. A friendship based off of pleasure is one where both people are attracted to one another based off of what they look like and who they are as a person.

The beginning of Book eight of the Nicomachean Ethics states that friendship is a “kind of virtue and it is also most necessary for living” (Book VIII, 1155a, 1-2). Friendships connect to all walks of life, with friends we can help young from making mistakes and assist the elderly in life through their delicate state they cannot do themselves. The most significant power friendship has is the ability to hold communities and how it’s closely connected to justice (Book VIII, 1155a, 20-26). Which is interesting because it seems that by human nature we strive for the sense of harmony in a community. We aim for happiness between community members and happiness as a whole. Aristotle later comments that a possession of many friends are one of the fine things of life and it is a splendid thing to obtain.

This quote explains how Aristotle believes that this is the best type of friendship because he believes that this friendship is so long lasting because he says that friendship lasts as long as people stay good and virtue is enduring. Aristotle believes that this is the rarest form of friendship because it takes two people who are committed to one another and not only looking for the benefits in which Utility or Pleasure are consisted of. He also explains how this friendship can only work for the “good” person, these certain people also have to be in some ways alike as well as beneficial to one another. This meaning that both sides of the relationship need to provide benefits to the other person in addition to being pleasant to each other.

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.

The book of Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle takes on the philosophical inquiry into the good life for a human being. Specifically in Book 8, Aristotle discusses the concept of friendship. Friendship is the relationship between someone you consider very close to you someone who you interact with or rely on. Friendships can have a big impact in one's health and well being overall. They can make you feel a sense of belonging and purpose, confidence, trust, cope with problems and make you feel great overall.

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 5 basis set up in Aristotle’s Ethics are explained on page 252 and are as followed; “A person who wished for and does what is good or what appears to him to be good for his friends sake, a person who wished for the existence and life of his friend for a friends sake, a person who spends his time in our company, whose desires are the same as ours, and a person who shared sorrow and joy with his friend. An overall message of “one must do well for others in order to be a proper friend”1 can be understood with the five basis of friendship to determine if a person is an ideal friend.

“No one would choose a friendless existence on condition of having all the other things in the world (Aristotle).” Humans are social beings, social beyond any other creature in the world. Human interaction is a must for survival. It is in our nature. Aristotle understood this, he even had his own analysis of friendship. In the Nicomachean Ethics written by Aristotle, books VIII and IX are based off of friendship. Today, the definition of a friend is, “A person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations (Oxford Dictionary).” To Aristotle, friendship is much more than this. In this research paper, I will evaluate whether or not Aristotle’s analysis of friendship is applicable to the modern world.