It is important that friendship be active, since Aristotle treats friendship as an energeia, akin to pleasure and happiness. It is impossible to have a perfect friendship with many people, because such a friendship takes a long time to build and requires a lot of time to maintain. Such friendship is rare and takes time to develop, but it is the best. Aristotle explains that friendship is the act of loving rather than the act of being loved. Aristocracy passes over into oligarchy by the badness of the rulers, who distribute contrary to equity what belongs to the city-all or most of the good things to themselves, and office always to the same people, paying most regard to wealth; thus the rulers are few and are bad men instead of the most worthy. Friendship is one of the essential components of the good life, and the value of friendship … According to Aristotle in Nicomachean Ethics, the three types of friendship are friendship for the sake of pleasure, friendship for the sake of utility, and perfect friendship. 532-554. This statement, which appears in Book I, Chapter 3, is the first of a number of caveats with which Aristotle warns us not to expect any precise rules or codes of conduct.This is not laziness on Aristotle’s part, but, as he explains, the nature of the beast. Now those who wish goods to their friend for the friend’s own sake are friends most of all; for they have this attitude because of the friend himself, not coincidentally. Aristotle elaborates on his idea of friendship, noting that a key feature of companionship is collaboration. And it is clearer in the case of tyranny that it is the worst deviation-form; but it is the contrary of the best that is worst. Aristotle himself sets three requirements for friendship, as well as three separate categories for friendship, the categories being, utility based, pleasure based, and virtues based. Michael Pakaluk offers a thorough and lucid examination of the entire work, uncovering Aristotle's motivations and basic views while paying careful attention to his arguments. 9.1", "denarius") ... Our next business after this will be to discuss Friendship. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Other people can help us act virtuously by improving our ability to deliberate or, … Ethics deals with the vagaries of human life and must remain flexible enough to account for the great deal of variety and possibility. Aristotle (385 BCE – 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist. Aristotle describes how virtue, and therefore happiness, can be effectively attained through purposeful practice. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics H. Rackham, Ed. This is an engaging and accessible introduction to the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle's great masterpiece of moral philosophy. One aspect of human nature Aristotle examines is that of friendship. Rather, we are by nature able to acquire them, and we are completed through habit. Aristotle says that just as virtuous behavior improves an individual, friends have the potential to … We’d love your help. Friendship Quotes in Nicomachean Ethics The Nicomachean Ethics quotes below are all either spoken by Friendship or refer to Friendship. Ross, Aristotle: The Nicomachean Ethics. [T]he virtues arise in us neither by nature nor against nature. Aristotle uses the language of distributive justice to explain this concept. Indeed, we see that there is much more quarrelling among those who have all things in common, though there are not many of them when compared with the vast numbers who have private property.”. The deviation from monarchy is tyranny; for both are forms of one-man rule, but there is the greatest difference between them; the tyrant looks to his own advantage, the king to that of his subjects. Here, Aristotle advocates for friendliness and civility even with people who are not our close friends. How are these three typesof friendship supposed to be related to one another? ("Agamemnon", "Hom. Since we are still talking about what he had to say way back in 350 B.C.E., we are not going to throw out his analysis of friendships. Democracy is the least bad of the deviations;”, “Moral experience—the actual possession and exercise of good character—is necessary truly to understand moral principles and profitably to apply them.”, “bad men... aim at getting more than their share of advantages, while in labor and public service they fall short of their share; and each man wishing for advantage to himself criticizes his neighbor and stands in his way; for if people do not watch it carefully the common weal is soon destroyed. Bad people can be friends for reasons of pleasure or utility, but only good people can be friends for each other’s sake. 20 of the best book quotes from Nicomachean Ethics #1 “So then Happiness is manifestly something focal and self-sufficient, being the end of all things which are and may be done.” person. And we enlist partners in deliberation on large issues when we distrust our own ability to discern [the right answer]. Men tend to wish well those they love, not because of a feeling, but as a result of a certain state of character. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” ― … Welcome back. On the whole, friendships consist of equal exchanges, whether of utility, pleasantness, or goodness. If they are capable of being reformed one should rather come to the assistance of their character or their property, inasmuch as this is better and more characteristic of friendship. Here, Aristotle describes the importance of friendship to decision-making. 11, no. Aristotle considers the nature of friendship and its role in making life good. Nicomachean Ethics. 14 Contemplating Friendship in Aristotle’s Ethics affection, this is not the whole story.61As I argue below, in the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defines friendship as the reciprocal giving and receiving of affection between persons who both have knowledge of one another’s good- will. 12 (august 2011) By living as part of a community and abiding by that community’s laws, a person receives a framework in which to practice living virtuously. (8.11.1161a23-27) Aristotle continues to map the concept of intimate friendships onto political life in order to see how these relationships work on the macrocosmic levels. While this friendship is not equal—it's based on superiority—there are still things that each person can and should contribute. Edited by Richard McKeon. Aristotle addresses the topic of friendship in Book 8 and 9 of his Nicomachean Ethics. His carriage is sedate, his voice deep, his speech measured; he is not given to hurry, for he is concerned about only a few things; he is not prone to vehemence, for he thinks nothing very important. Aristotle equates the relationship between friends to the terms of justice normally reserved for conversations about "social contract." As the Nicomachean Ethics shows over the course of its ten books, eudaimonia entails acting virtuously, almost always among others – within a family, among friends and as part of a civil society. He is never fired with admiration, since there is nothing great in his eyes. He does not speak evil of others, even of his enemies, unless it be to themselves. Now tyranny is the very contrary of this; the tyrant pursues his own good. "Plato and Aristotle on Friendship and Altruism, in Mind (1977) Vol. Error rating book. The majority believe that things such as pleasure, wealth, and honor are considered happiness. Aristotle will spend the rest of the Ethics proving this statement. goodness, pleasure and utility - noted at 1155 b 18-19. Marcus Aurelius - How to Think Clearly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eB5zqN01oo---At age 17, Aristotle enrolled in the Platonic Academy. This idea feeds into Aristotle’s emphasis on the importance of politics to human life—the meeting of multiple minds to deliberate on how to increase the happiness of themselves and their community. Happiness is not something bestowed naturally upon people, nor is happiness incompatible with humanity. Aristotle says that all three types of friendship meet the conditions laid down in VIII 2 -. Virtue of character is a mean ... between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency. The best of these is monarchy, the worst timocracy. In friendships with dissimilar aims, Aristotle says, there has to be an equalizer of some sort; for example, in political friendship, money is the common measure, governing the exchange between a cobbler or a weaver and their customers. A balanced friendliness with strangers need not entail bending over backward for others, merely that we treat them as we would a friend, without expecting the true underlying fondness we have for actual friends. In unequal friendship, it is important that each Aristotle addresses the topic of friendship in Book 8 and 9 of his Nicomachean Ethics. In his view, true friendship is not defined by what people need or want from each other because those things are likely to change with time. Get free homework help on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics: book summary, chapter summary and analysis and original text, quotes, essays, and character analysis courtesy of CliffsNotes. Must the friendship, then, be forthwith broken off? In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle shares his view on a number of issues in order to explain that the “telos,” the highest good, for humanity is happiness. Book 9, Chapter 1. The Nicomachean Ethics (/ ˌ n ɪ k oʊ ˈ m æ k i ə n /; Ancient Greek: Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, Ēthika Nikomacheia) is the name normally given to Aristotle's best-known work on ethics.The work, which plays a pre-eminent role in defining Aristotelian ethics, consists of ten books, originally separate scrolls, and is understood to be based on notes from his lectures at the Lyceum. Essay 1: Eudaimonia in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics || Essay 3: Egoism in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics Bibliography Annas, Julia. Section 8: Aristotle's account of Friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics A. D. M. WALKER The Nicomachean Ethics, as is well known, distinguishesthree types of friendship-the friendship of goodness, the friendship of pleasure, and the friendship of utility. The good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life.”, “Bad people...are in conflict with themselves; they desire one thing and will another, like the incontinent who choose harmful pleasures instead of what they themselves believe to be good.”, “The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more. Considering Aristotle and Nicomachean Ethics on Friendship Can friendships be sorted into one of three categories as Aristotle postulated? Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Within these broad claims about human excellence and the qualities of a good life, Aristotle defines methods and terms that continue to influence many aspects of contemporary ethical thinking. In this excerpt from his book, Aristotle defines three types of friendship. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. 1 For friendship is a virtue, 2 or involves virtue; and also it is one of the most indispensable requirements of life. Unless you have another assignment within this text, here’s what to do: Give yourself an overview of the whole here. One of the many subjects that Aristotle tackles in The Nicomachean Ethics is the concept and practice of friendship. 2. concepts. It is no concern of his that he should be praised, or that others should be blamed. Nicomachean Ethics. Friendship is not merely agreeing with somebody on something but coming together with those agreeing beliefs and determining a mutually advantageous course of action. With all individual actions, it is the intellect which must determine the course of proper morality and strength of character; the path of right action elucidated in Nicomachean Ethics thus grounds itself in that personal aim for moral excellence. He is of a disposition to do men service, though he is ashamed to have a service done to him. Monarchy passes over into tyranny; for tyranny is the evil form of one-man rule and the bad king becomes a tyrant. True friendship is rather defined by a love for another person regardless of what can be received from them because of a mutual admiration for each other’s unchanging moral character, independent of situational factors. Nicomachean Ethics, written by Aristotle, focuses on the good in life and how one can achieve it. But one may have many friends on the basis of usefulness or pleasure. Aristotle. Friendship based on pleasure is higher than that based on usefulness. The best quotes from The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle - organized by theme, including book location and character - with an explanation to help you understand! Nicomachean Ethics | Quotes. The result is that they are in a state of faction, putting compulsion on each other but unwilling themselves to do what is just.”, “How can a man know what is good or best for him, and yet chronically fail to act upon his knowledge?”, “It is well said, then, that it is by doing just acts that the just man is produced, and by doing temperate acts the temperate man; without doing these no one would have even a prospect of becoming good.”, “men cannot know each other till they have ‘eaten salt together’;”, “The beginning seems to be more than half of the whole.”, “Such [communistic] legislation may have a specious appearance of benevolence; men readily listen to it, and are easily induced to believe that in some wonderful manner everybody will become everybody's friend, especially when some one is heard denouncing the evils now existing in states, suits about contracts, convictions for perjury, flatteries of rich men and the like, which are said to arise out of the possession of private property. Anyone can share a belief with another person, but friends will be able to work together effectively to improve the world. Here, Aristotle describes the importance of friendship to decision-making. Here, rather than the friendship of fellow citizens or political collaborators, Aristotle discusses the friendship of truly close friends. The human good proves to be activity of the soul in accord with virtue. Timocracy passes over into democracy; for these are coterminous, since it is the ideal even of timocracy to be the rule of the majority, and all who have the property qualification count as equal. 86, pp. The opening lines of VIII 3 (1156 a 6-8) distinguish three types of friendship corresponding to the three possible grounds of affection -. Nicomachean Ethics. happiness reasons real purpose #2 A person who seems disagreeable about everything will never progress very far, but a person who behaves in an ingratiating way to everybody, who tries to please everyone and cause no hurt, will ultimately cause damage to him/herself and others too. Aristotle asks good human beings to be self-lovers, devoting special attention to virtue’s most fundamental groundwork. Deliberation concerns what is usually [one way rather than another], where the outcome is unclear and the right way to act is undefined.

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