Mill And Kant On Emotion

Dennis Rukunga

Phil 120

April 24, 2006

Paper #2

Critically evaluate Aristotle's view of friendship.

i. Why, according to Aristotle, do we need friends in order to be happy?

ii. What in your view is the most important or interesting criticism of this view?

iii. What would Aristotle say in response to this criticism?

In his book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that friendship is a virtue or implies virtues and it is necessary in our lives. According to him everyone needs friends including the rich, those in power and possession of office and of course the poor. Aristotle states that their prosperity of beneficence is exercised mainly through friends and also we preserve and guard this prosperity by using friends. He continues to claim that the rich people need people to share their wealth others for it makes them feel good and people in need desire someone who can offer them benefits.

According to Aristotle, there are three main types of friendship, and the rest derive their meaning from these kinds. The first kind of friendship involves mutual pleasure and people love each other because they find pleasure and not just for the sake of being together. This friendship exists because someone finds good in the other and thus these relationships are incidental. Aristotle states that such friendship exists among young people for they live under the guidance of emotion. This kind of friendship aims at pleasure and the relationship is easily dissolved if being together does not bring any happiness or pleasure to either party.

The second type of friendship involves mutual understanding of each other, whereby every person finds some usefulness in the other. In this kind of relationship it exists because people love some good or advantage they get from their partner. This kind of relationship would involve a business friendship or maybe a college buddy whom you study together. In this kind of friendship, one does not really love the other for the sake of the other, but loves the end result they derive from the friendship.

Lastly, according to Aristotle the other kind of friendship is based on goodness of men and it's the true virtue for those who wish well to other people. They wish their friends well for they find it natural to do so and not incidentally, and this friendship lasts as they are good. This friendship is among those who are happy, self controlled through the practice moral and intellectual virtues. It is the most lasting and unselfish friendship because either party wishes the other one good. And they find joy when the other person is doing better. Aristotle also states that such kinds of friendship are rare and they require time and familiarity; as the proverb says," men cannot know each other until they have eaten salt together." NE (197)

According to Aristotle we need friends to facilitate our thinking and acting. Though we can think by ourselves we need friends to converse with to enhance our learning and increase knowledge. In this book Aristotle says man is a social and political being