Catholic Social Learning Aristotle Analysis

In Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, both friendship and justice are present in communal associations. In the community, there are three types of friendship, with the highest form being a perfect friendship. Friends are crucial for humans to flourish, but perfect friendships are rare as Aristotle describes it as a “Friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for these wish well alike to each other… and they are good in themselves.” (Nic.8.3.1156b7-9). A perfect friendship encourages both people in the relationship to better themselves and push each other towards a higher standard. This may be a person’s own advancement or for justice in the community. Roger Bergman, the author of Catholic Social Learning (CSL), applies his method of …show more content…
The ideas of Aristotle and Bergman both imply to aim for the common good and betterment of the individual. Justice, as many philosophers claim, is essential for obtaining virtues and allowing people to be good in themselves; however, Aristotle challenges this as he says, “When men are friends they have no need of justice, while when they are just they need friendship as well, and the truest form of justice is thought to be a friendly quality.” (Nic.8.1.1155a25-28). Aristotle seems to place friendship and justice together, as someone has the highest form of justice when they acquire a perfect friendship. On the other hand, Bergman places less emphasis on the impact of friendships, as he favors students performing deeds that are good for the community. One of Bergman’s students, while on an immersion trip in the Dominican Republic, developed a new sense of what she wanted to do with her life, as she would, “Pursue a medical degree but not necessarily use the degree for personal benefits such as a nice car or house, but to help other people in different communities who lack medical technologies.” (CSL …show more content…
This relationship is unequal, as the poor communities find the students useful to provide aid for them, yet they do not have a say in what the students assist them with. This friendship will not last for long considering the students will leave after the semester, but also the poor communities do not find the students pleasant to be around. Therefore, the poor communities do not see the immersion students as friends because Aristotle says, “To be friends, then, they must be mutually recognized as bearing goodwill and wishing well to each other…” (Nic.8.2.1156a4-5). Poor communities are lacking the aspect of friendship, which is the highest form of justice in Aristotle’s eyes, as he would compare this to a tyrannical regime where justice is missing. Bergman’s teaching methods may transform the immersion students to become more just, but he doesn’t consider the wants of the poor communities. This lack of input from the community is how a tyrannical regime would treat its people, although this does not involve