ARISTOTLEON
FRIENDSHIP
© 2014 William Clugston
The Life of Aristotle
• He was born, he philosophized, he died. • Born 384 B.C. in Stagira, northern Greece• Father Macedonian court physician. • At age 17 went to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy.• Left 20 years later when Plato died.• 2 years later started tutoring 13 year old Alexander.• 3 years later Alexander went off to pursue greatness.• Went to Athens & started his school, the Lyceum.• After about 12 years Alexander died and Athens was in
revolt. Anyone associated with him was persecuted & Aristotle was charged with impiety. He left Athens so it would not “commit a second sin against philosophy.”
• Went back to Stagira and died a year later at 62. No one knows how or why he died.
Plato v. Aristotle
• Plato – Rationalist– Theory of the Forms – perfect, eternal,
immaterial templates from which everything in this world is copied.
– Provided support for spiritual projects like Christianity and utopian projects like Marxism
• Aristotle – Empiricist– Philosopher of Common Sense– There are Forms, but they are in things, not
separate from them– Liked to collect things – biological
specimens, constitutions – Learn by observing– Provided support for humanism and the
scientific revolution
Aristotle’s Work
• Lectured on virtually everything. Created the modern university curricula.
• 3 Areas of Science – – Theoretical – truth for the sake of
truth• Physical – natural philosophy, senses• Math – abstract but practical• Metaphysics – first philosophy, being
– Technical – create things– Practical – how to make men good• Ethics• Political Science
Theoretical & Practical Sciences
• Basis of Theoretical Sciences– Beginning of the Metaphysics– “All men desire to know. An indication
of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves.”
• Basis of Practical Sciences– Beginning of the Nicomachean Ethics – “Every art and applied science, and
every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.”
Logic
• Aristotle invented logic.• Deduction – arriving at new
knowledge based on old knowledge. – Syllogism:• All men are mortal• Socrates is a man• Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
• Induction – arriving at new knowledge based on observation. From specific to general.
4 Causes
• Before you can understand anything, for example a statue of Pericles, you have to answer 4 questions about it.
• Material Cause – what is it made of? (bronze)
• Formal Cause – what is it’s form? (shape of Pericles)
• Efficient Cause – what or who made it? (sculptor)
• Final Cause – what is it’s final purpose? (commemorate his famous Funeral Oration)
Other Greek Views
• Plato – Dialogue, Lysis, deals with the definition of friendship. It does not have any answers, but raises questions that Aristotle tries to answer.
• Stoics and epicureans are self-sufficient so friendship is problematic. – Stoics – Community minded, but don’t
need to trust or rely on anyone. Basis of friendship is nature. Two rational minds coming together.
– Epicureans – Stand apart from society. They argue that by being self-sufficient they have no need for utility type friendship, but are the only ones who can have true friendship.
The Nicomachean Ethics
• Chief goal of life must be something good in itself and not as a means to something else – happiness. Greek word is eudaimonia also translated as “flourishing.”
• Things like wealth, pleasure, honor contribute, but only virtue will make one truly happy.
• Examines the various virtues necessary for living well in a polis. In this way, it is a prerequisite to The Politics.
• Intellectual virtues (of mind) can be taught.• Moral virtues (of character) have to be practiced.
– Doctrine of the Mean– Most moral virtues are the middle between two opposite
extremes and you can become proficient in them only by practicing choosing the Mean.
– Some, like Justice are not a mean, they just are what they are.
• Pays a lot of attention to the “cardinal” virtues of justice, prudence, temperance, and courage.
• Best life is one of philosophical contemplation.
What is Friendship?
• Greek word is Philia– Philosophy (love of wisdom)– Broader than our word for friendship
• What we normally call friends• Family• Business relationships• Civic ties• Social clubs• Religious affiliations• Political parties
– What do these have in common? – “wanting for someone what one thinks good, for his sake and not for one’s own.”
• Reciprocal good will• Is friendship a virtue? Probably not.
3 Kinds of Friendship
“We do not feel affection for everything, but only for the loveable, and that means what is good, pleasant or useful.”
• Friendship Based on Pleasure– Friends with someone because you
enjoy their company.• Friendship Based on Usefulness– Friends with someone because you
expect to gain some advantage out of the association.
• Friendship Based on Virtue– Friends with someone just because
they are good (virtuous). Aristotle calls this “perfect” friendship.
Friendships Based on Pleasure or Usefulness
• Real object of affection is not the person, but what you get out of the relationship.
• Ends when the pleasure or usefulness ends.
• Friendships based on pleasure are closer to true friendships. “Friendships based on usefulness are for hucksters.”
• Happy, self-sufficient people don’t need useful friends, but need pleasant friends.
• Young people make friends quickly and tend toward friendships based on pleasure.
• “Friendship does not arise easily among the sour and the old, inasmuch as they are rather grouchy and find little joy in social relations. “
Friendships Based on Virtue
• Tend to last a long time since the object of affection is the person’s character.
• Wish friends good will for their own sake.• Perfect friendship is when both friends are
equally virtuous. • “The excellent person will need people for
him to benefit.” Even happy, self-sufficient people need friends. Virtuous people need to do good for other people and it is more honorable to do good for friends than strangers.
• Virtuous friends learn from each other and help each other be virtuous.
• Necessarily includes utility and pleasure.• Must spend a lot of time together to develop
this type of friendship.
Friendship within the Family
• Tend to be unequal– Husband superior to wife– Parent superior to child
• As with other friendships between unequals, the superior friend brings more to the relationship so the inferior one should show more affection to balance things out.
• Just as the giver of a gift tends to have more affection than the receiver, parents tend to have more affection than children, and mothers have more affection to their children than fathers.
Civic Friendship
• You can have some form of friendship with people you don’t know or know very well.
• In a community with civic friendship, people assume that others are common supporters of the civic institutions and the common good.
• Where there is friendship there is no need of justice, so where there is civic friendship there is less need for legally enforced justice.
Friendship in Different Regimes
• The better the regime, the more civic friendship and friendship based on virtue. In the worst regime friendships are based only on pleasure and usefulness.
• Good regimes– Monarchy (single good ruler)– Aristocracy (rule by virtuous group)– Timocracy (rule by honorable group)
• “Perverted” regimes– Democracy (mob rule)– Oligarchy (rule by uncaring group)– Tyranny (single bad ruler)
How Many Friends Can You Have?
• The weaker the friendship, like Civic Friendship, the more friends you can have, but still, the Facebook limit of 5,000 friends is too high.
• Can only be “in love” with a few people because it’s an extreme of friendship.
• Friendships based on pleasure and usefulness are limited because you have to spend time with the people.
• Friendships based on virtue are very limited because good people are hard to find and you have the spend a lot of time with them. “We must be content if we find even a few friends of this kind.”
• Another limitation is that your friends should be friends with each other.
