Definition Of Friendship Ethics

The limits of teleology and the ends of friendship the journal of philosophy 78 1981 utilitarians act for the sake of friendship and their main motive.

Definition of friendship ethics. In his nicomachean ethics the old greek dude has plenty of interesting insights and makes a number of well reasoned value judgments. Although it is a bit unclear how to understand these distinctions the basic idea seems to be that pleasure utility and virtue are the. Friendship is unnecessary like philosophy and art friendship has no survival value. After what we have said a discussion of friendship would naturally follow since it is a virtue or implies virtue and is besides most necessary.

Friendships of pleasure of utility and of virtue. In philosophical discussions of friendship it is common to follow aristotle nicomachean ethics book viii in distinguishing three kinds of friendship. In the nicomachean ethics aristotle describes friendship as reciprocated goodwill. Lewis a friend is a single soul dwelling in two bodies aristotle laughter is not a bad beginning for a friendship and it is by far the best ending for one oscar wilde.

Rather it is one of those things that give value to survival c. Some of aristotle s best known works on ethics can be found in his book nicomachean ethics which was published in approximately 340 bce. In this excerpt from his book aristotle defines three types of friendship. Stocker argues in an earlier paper that any teleology such as utilitarianism is by definition unable to accommodate acting out of friendship.

And he s fairly unique among philosophers in the sense that. Aristotle 385 bce 322 bce was an ancient greek philosopher and scientist. Aristotle comes rather close to saying that relationships based on profit or pleasure should not be called friendships at all. Are the friendships of utility and pleasure actually true friendship.

Outline of book viii of the nicomachean ethics. The ideal of perfect friendship may strike the modern reader as being somewhat elitist but aristotle is surely right in holding that the best kinds of friendship are both rare and demanding. With true friendship friends love each other for their own sake and they wish good things for each other.