Aristotle believed that friendship is not only a certain virtue but also the most essential thing in life. There are mainly three different types of friendship: friendship based on goodness, friendship based on pleasure, and friendship based on utility. Friendship is characterized by reciprocity, similarity, and the need for shared living. Friendship is the bond that connects the city-state and is an important condition for the transition from individual virtue to public virtue. Aristotle’s thought on friendship is a relationship that regulates interpersonal communication with action as its characteristic, a rational emotion accompanied by choice and deliberation, a unity of ethical virtue and practical wisdom. We should carry forward Aristotle’s thought on friendship, and promote personal happiness, interpersonal harmony, and social harmony through friendship.
References
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Russell, B. (2001). A History of Western Philosophy (Volume 1) (Translated by He Zhaowu, Li Joseph, p. 234). The Commercial Press.
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Sun, X. (2019). Ayn Rand and Aristotle: The Self-Love Essence of Friendship. Journal of Hunan University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition),5, 111.
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Wang, T. M., & Liu, M. (2016). Aristotle’s View of Friendship and Its Contemporary Value. Journal of Yan’an University (Social Science Edition),3, 15.
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Yu, J. Y. (2011). Aristotle’s Ethics (p. 197). People’s Publishing House of China.
