The Affair On The Grounds Of Being A Good Friend Essay

In Claire’s situation, Aristotle would claim that she should try to convince Tony to tell Beth about the affair on the grounds of being a good friend towards Tony and Beth. Aristotle argues that trust is very important in friendships and that it is the characteristic of a true friendship. He states “The friendship of the good too and this alone is proof against slander; for it is not easy to trust any one talk about a man who has long been tested by oneself; and it is among good men that trust and the feeling that 'he would never wrong me ' and all the other things that are demanded in true friendship are found.” In other words, not only would Tony and Beth’s relationship fail because she would be unable to trust Tony, but her friendship with Claire would fail too because she would be unable to trust Claire because she knew about the affair also but did not speak up. Not only that, but Claire would not be a good friend to Tony if she allowed him to jeopardize his moral virtue by not telling Beth the truth. Aristotle thought that true happiness derived from moral virtue and that true friendship is the “. . .friendship of men who are good, and alike in virtue; for these wish well alike to each other qua good, and they are good themselves. Now those who wish well to their friends for their sake are most truly friends;” Which means that if Claire wants to be a good friend to Tony, she would wish him happiness and good onto him by allowing him to practice moral virtue.…