Aristotle on Friendship 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
Premium Friendship Virtue
Aristotle on Friendship Friendship is a bond in which many individuals make every effort to achieve‚ although the meaning of it is not known to them. Individuals surround themselves with other humans‚ their friends‚ in order to achieve a greater happiness. It has become part of human nature. Friendship has become such a part of human nature that it can be seen in examples such as a human’s hierarchy of needs created by Maslow1. Constantly individuals strive to broaden their
Premium Friendship Virtue Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle On Friendship Philosophical Ethics December 6‚ 1995 Friendship is undoubtedly one of the most important elements in the books of Aristotle’s ethical principles. Aristotle takes the idea of friendship to a serious degree. He categorizes them into three groups or types of friendships. This report will attempt to define each type of friendship as well as identify the role of friendship in a society. Aristotle considers friendship to be a necessity to live. He
Premium Friendship Love Interpersonal relationship
Aristotle and Friendship According to Aristotle‚ there are three kinds of friendship based on three kinds of love that unite people. Aristotle defines friendship through the word‚ philia. Philia is the emotional bond between human beings which provides the basis for all forms of social organizations‚ common effort‚ and personal relationships between people. The three kinds of friendship Aristotle explains are utility‚ pleasure‚ and complete friendship. Friendship based on mutual utility
Premium Love Interpersonal relationship Friendship
Aristotle has defined three types of friendships for us to evaluate: utility‚ pleasure‚ and true friendship. A utility friendships are better described as alliances. These friendships are beneficial to both parties and the duration of the friendship lasts until they prove to not be useful anymore. This type of friendship is very common. An example of a utility friendship is a political alliance or business alliance. The next type of friendship is of pleasure. These friendships are based on mutual
Premium Friendship Interpersonal relationship Virtue
Philosophy 14 March 2012 Minor Essay No. 2 TOPIC A Think about one or more of your friendships in light of what Aristotle writes about friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics. Write an essay that reflects on both -- your friendship(s) in terms of Aristotle’s ideas and/or Aristotle’s ideas in terms of your friendship(s). You may refer to relevant sections of the Ethics by line number as needed‚ but the main idea here is to reflect on your real life experience of friendship and consider how Aristotle’s
Premium Virtue Interpersonal relationship Friendship
Inferior People Become Complete Friends? This paper examines whether inferior and superior people can be friends based on complete friendship according to Aristotle. First‚ I will clarify the definition of a complete friendship and what it entails. Secondly‚ I will explain the different types of equal and unequal friendships in accordance with complete friendship. Then I will show how different levels of affection follow the forms of inequality and how a sort of equality can arise owing to proper
Premium Friendship Love Interpersonal relationship
People have defined happiness as some kind of good of a human being. In Nicomachean Ethics: Book I‚ Aristotle defines happiness as the activity of living well‚ which in the Greek word is called eudaimonia. He tends to think that happiness is how we balance and moderate our lives to seek the highest pleasures‚ which he calls maintaining the mean. In the following excerpt from Book I‚ Aristotle talks about how happiness presumably consists in attaining some good or set of goods. “Now goods have
Premium Nicomachean Ethics Virtue Human
BOOK IX - The Fall A. Fourth invocation [1-] B. Satan returns to Eden and possesses the serpent [48-191] . . . . . 1. Satan gains secret entrance to the Garden [48-] . . . . . 2. He expresses his thirst for revenge [98-] . . . . . 3. He finds and enters the sleeping serpent [179-] C. Adam and Eve divide their work in the Garden [192-403] . . . . . 1. Eve’s proposal that they work in different areas [205-341] . . . . . . . . . . a) Eve makes the suggestion [205-] . . . . . . . .
Premium Adam and Eve Garden of Eden Paradise Lost
it comes to friendship‚ most everyone has something to say. No matter where you look‚ the theme of friendship is always present‚ whether it be through quotes‚ such as one written by Saint Jerome that states‚ "The friendship that can cease has never been real" or through songs‚ such as You’ve Got a Friend in Me from the film Toy Story. Aristotle felt that friendship was so important that he devoted an entire section of the Nicomachean Ethics to it. Aristotle’s beliefs of friendship are‚ for the
Premium