Aristotle’s claim is that friends have no need for justice; this passage will spell out this claim, provide the necessary information as to why Aristotle can claim this, and discuss what this implies. His explanation of justice is much different from that of Plato and Socrates, Aristotle’s predecessors. According to Aristotle, justice is not included in the list of virtues, yet, on the other hand, friendship is, and the logic behind this helps to further the idea that Aristotle wishes to convey. Justice, as viewed by Aristotle, is the whole or completeness of all eleven virtues. Friendship is not dependent on justice, yet is a necessary commodity when it comes to appearing as a just person. Aristotle has his own idea of justice and describes
…show more content…
Though Aristotle is implying justice as a whole the fact that he states, “friendship is not only necessary but also noble,” helps to eliminate justice as a virtue. As stated by HUANG the virtue of justice comes from a willingness to do noble things. “Non-virtuous people occasionally make notable contributions to society, but they do not act out of noble character” (HUANG 267). From Aristotle’s claim that friendship is noble, one can perceive that an individual with no friends is not noble, and therefore eliminated from Aristotle’s list of virtues, is the virtue of justice.
Aristotle claims that friendship is independent of justice, because those that are in friendship must already be just. “As I argued in chapter one, for Aristotle the
Chief human good must be choiceworthy (haireton), and a life is choiceworthy only if …show more content…
Much proof is evident, also, in the fact that Aristotle believes, “When people are friends, they have no need of justice, but when they are just, they do need friendship in addition.” Friendship is necessary to complete the wholeness of virtue, and it is the most important of all virtues, which supports Aristotle’s statement fully. The previous statement concludes that friendship is a necessary commodity when it comes to appearing as a just person, yet is not dependent on
Though Aristotle is implying justice as a whole the fact that he states, “friendship is not only necessary but also noble,” helps to eliminate justice as a virtue. As stated by HUANG the virtue of justice comes from a willingness to do noble things. “Non-virtuous people occasionally make notable contributions to society, but they do not act out of noble character” (HUANG 267). From Aristotle’s claim that friendship is noble, one can perceive that an individual with no friends is not noble, and therefore eliminated from Aristotle’s list of virtues, is the virtue of justice.
Aristotle claims that friendship is independent of justice, because those that are in friendship must already be just. “As I argued in chapter one, for Aristotle the
Chief human good must be choiceworthy (haireton), and a life is choiceworthy only if …show more content…
Much proof is evident, also, in the fact that Aristotle believes, “When people are friends, they have no need of justice, but when they are just, they do need friendship in addition.” Friendship is necessary to complete the wholeness of virtue, and it is the most important of all virtues, which supports Aristotle’s statement fully. The previous statement concludes that friendship is a necessary commodity when it comes to appearing as a just person, yet is not dependent on