Virtue is a Necessary Feature of Friendship - 871 Words

Friendship offers a basic good that is necessary in human life. But to what extent, if any, is virtue a necessary feature of a true friendship? A popular view, and one I agree with, is the highly moralized view, according to Cocking and Kennett, â€Å"friendship is an essential vehicle for moral development and improvement † (Cocking and Kennett, 280). In order to argue my view that virtue is a necessary feature, I will discuss Aristotle’s view of the best kind of friendship, reconstruct Cocking Kennett’s conception of the value of friendship and provide an example to show the difference in argument. In â€Å" The Nicomachean Ethics† Aristotle identifies three types of friendships: utility, pleasure, and virtue. He adopts a highly moralized view of friendship, believing the best type of friendship is one of virtue. These friendships arise between two good men with similar virtues. Friendships of utility form because of a good or benefit offered in the relationship. A Friendship of pleasure is established due characteristics, such as wit, which makes it pleasurable to be around one another. In both cases the â€Å"loved person is loved, but as providing some good or pleasure. Such friendships are easily dissolved, if the parties do not remain like themselves†¦ the love ceases† (144). These friendships of utility and pleasure are short lived, and therefore not the best type of friendship. Friendship formed out of virtue posses the qualities of utility, pleasure, but also of good. TheseShow MoreRelatedAristotle on Friendship1069 Words   |  4 Pagesof friendshi ps that exist in the Greek word philia (a broader definition of friendship than one might think), which are based off usefulness, pleasure, or goodness, the three reasons for liking something: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure and complete friendships. In the beginning, Aristotle says that friendship is a virtue or at least involves virtue. It is necessary to life, since no one would choose to live without friends even if he had all other material goods. Friendships serveRead MoreFriendship Between Friendship And Friendship1405 Words   |  6 PagesFriendship is a form of virtue and is indispensable for human life since man is a social being. There are three conditions necessary for friendship to exist: mutual goodwill, awareness of the other’s feelings in their connection, and awareness of their goodwill and attitude toward the other. According to Aristotle there are three types of friendships corresponding to the three objects of love. The first two types are similar and interconnected; they are friendship based on mutual utility and friendshipRead MoreThe Issue Of Animal Cruelty1023 Words   |  5 Pagesdolphin. Both sources focus on the idea of the defining feature of man, and questions what is it that makes us human? Society is constantly abusing the idea of human superiority. 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