The Role Of Friendship In Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics

Most individuals can intuitively understand the concept of a friend or being in a friendship, however few can claim to have exhausted the topic to the extent Aristotle has in his Nicomachean Ethics. In his work, Aristotle attempts to outline what steps a person has to take in order to live a good and prosperous life. One topic that is pivotal in this discussion are the fundamentals of friendship. In order to demonstrate the significance, the various types of friendships, the the individuals that exist within each, and the difference between each of the types is outlined. Aristotle’s examination of friendships demonstrates the necessity in acquiring friends in order to achieve the good life. Firstly, Aristotle breaks down what the qualifications …show more content…
Aristotle claims that no one would desire to live a life without friends: “For no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all the other goods.” (119.5) This attribution of friendship as a universal property of every good life can be largely explained by the many benefits of having friends. The first of which is as a mirror to test one’s own virtues. Aristotle throughout his book provides reasoning that the best life is one of contemplation and self-reflection, however people are prone to self-deception when attempting to evaluate their own virtues. Friendship provides an eloquent solution to this issue by providing a method to project oneself onto another. Another reason is the provision of a method to undergo rigorous testing of intellectual and practical activities that would be otherwise difficult to accomplish. Both of these perks rely on the complete type of friendship, however, as this is the only type that is based on virtue and the one that shares enough similarities to allow for assistance in intellectual