The Importance Of Virtuous Friendship

The philosopher, Aristotle quoted friendship has “A single soul dwelling in two bodies.” Aristotle takes the concept of friendship to a major level. His concept of friendship is assertive and comprehensive. Subsequently, Aristotle divided each concept into three sections or in other words three types of friendship. He first distinguishes and contrasts the three types of friendships. More importantly Aristotle takes into consideration that friendship is a necessity to live, however, it is not only necessary, but also fine. He also characterizes friendship as a virtue and as just. The three different types of friendship correspond to the three objects of love, which are, things that are useful (advantage friendship), things that are pleasant (pleasure friendship), and finally the third, things that are good (good friendship).

Close friends often have a major impact on the choices that people make. A close

The Things They Carried is a collection of stories about the Vietnam War that the author, Tim O’Brien, uses to convey his experiences and feelings about the war. The book is filled with stories about the men of Alpha Company and their lives in Vietnam and afterwards back in the United States. O’Brien captures the reader with graphic descriptions of the war that make one feel as if they were in Vietnam. The characters are unique and the reader feels sadness and compassion for them by the end of the novel. To O’Brien the novel is not only a compilation of stories, but also a release of the fears, sadness, and anger that he has felt because of the Vietnam War.

In “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May, friendship is defined as different types of relationships. Todd May starts the article off with a story of him being in the hospital. A friend of his had come by and sat with him for some time. May then goes into the different types of relationships and friendships. He finishes off the article with this quote, “To be able to sit by the bed of another, watching him sleep, waiting for nothing else, is to understand where else we might be”. This quote is very meaningful because it reflects on one of the true meanings of friendship. You should be able to be with that person regardless of the situation, you should always be there for your friend, and supporting

In Book eight and nine of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the variations of friendships that are present in human nature. He further goes into detail on the terms and grounds on forming these friendships. I will be analyzing the different types of friendship discussed in Aristotle’s Ethics and answer the difficulties and obstacles present in trying to achieve the perfect friendship, the friendship based on goodness.

Mark Twain once said the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. What he means by that is that it is important to find out who you are, your identity. In the novel A Separate Peace, the friendship of two friends, Phineas and Gene, seem fine at first, but an accident shatters the summer peace and threatens a strong friendship. In the novel, Gene is somewhat like a shadow of Phineas, he sometimes gets jealous of Phineas because it seemed like Phineas knew what he was, and Gene didn’t have that feeling. The question is, does Gene ever find out who he really is without Phineas?

In the article “Friendship in the Age of Economics” professor Todd May implies there are three types of friendships. Those of pleasure, those of usefulness, and true friendship. George and Lennie have a true friendship. George tries to protect Lennie as much as he can till the ending where he is forced to kill his best friend. George and Lennie are vulnerable to each other because George tries to help Lennie all he can.

By what means would we define the term friendship? Most would define it as a bond created based upon mutual trust and support. With that one must ask themselves: Can a friendship prosper without the act of being truthful and obeying the duty of friendly correction? The answer is No. Marcus Tullius Cicero wrote a text on friendship. Cicero established a model for Latin prose; his surviving works include speeches, treatises on rhetoric, philosophical works, and letters. His text on friendship outlines all of the great qualities that define and dispose of a friendship. A healthy friendship is one where you can be honest with one another. Individually learning to accept corrections is important as well as the ability to be humble when giving

Two people of different ages and genders can form solid friendship, which becomes their spiritual dependence and compensates their lacking of emotional care. Also, the end of friendship further demonstrates the importance of it. This paper will focus on Okyō and Kichizō’s friendship in “Separate Ways,” by Higuchi Ichiyo, and Park So-nyo and Lee Eun-gyu’s friendship in Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, to analyze the form and end of their friendships.

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.

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, the roles and duties regarding friendship are well-delineated and exist within specific, virtue-driven parameters. Aristotle considers friendship to come to fruition not through chance or arbitrary circumstance, but through a process in which many character elements must amalgamate and correspond appropriately. Bonds among men, as Aristotle contends, depend largely on the moral attitudes and willingness to express love and accommodate the needs of the other and the self in order to foster the best exchange of goodness and well-wishing. Furthermore, he asserts that for the characters of each individual to correspond with the other to cohesively act for an achievement of friendship, much autonomous moral navigation is required.

Aristotle identifies the existence of three different kinds of friendships that are founded on the basis of either utility, pleasure or goodness of the friend. He views pleasure and utility to not be as binding compared to what he regards as complete friendship based on character, because in the latter the factor sustaining the social bond is more fragile relative to enduring virtues of a person. Aristotle further discusses that although a good person seems to have no apparent need for friends, they cannot lead a fulfilling life without friendship. I support Aristotle’s argument and will approach the matter from a different angle by explaining the importance of friendship in making us connected with the world. Additionally, I will pose if there

Painter and children’s writer Catherine Follestad has published five books so far, the first of which is The Itty Bitty Kitty (Tate Publishing, 2012). This is also the first book in the series, which already consisted of three titles.

The character of each individual has a deep impact on their potential happiness. Virtuous character can be developed in many different ways including the relationships one has during life. Character also is developed by relationships established throughout one’s lifetime. Although, there are different types of friendships humans enter into, complete friendship is the goal for all individuals. Friendships help build one’s character by the want for good virtue in each other. In complete friendship, that is shown by reciprocated good will. As well as, a complete friend is among equals, because it helps sustain an environment that can incorporate the reciprocated good will needed to help in the potential transformation to a virtuous character amongst each friend. This good will expects the complete friend to help cultivate good character in both contributors of the friendship. Therefore, the friendship turns potential character into direct virtuous character. When the members of a polis have these types of relationships, happiness is achievable for all. The happiness through virtue creates a society of good and just citizens since justice is the mean of all virtues in one’s character. Since, the overall goal of a polis to create virtuous citizens throughout the polis, these types of friendship aid in its actuality to the ultimate goal.

Aristotle highlighted the importance of friendship through various practices and concepts, such as utility and virtue. Virtuous practices were believed to enhance the friendship and encourage happiness among the participants (Kraut 64). Unfortunately, a friend whose behavior and practices are malevolent causes a rift in the practice of Aristotle’s principles. Therefore, to preserve the friendship and to protect one’s friend, one must do all that is possible to cease his or her friend’s actions.