No.19: Research Article #2

The research article I read today was Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship’s Possibility by Bradley Bryan. It is the first one on my bibliography list and I think it’s probably the longest one. This article analyzes about Aristotle’s understanding of friendship and its relationship with political life. But I think I don’t really need to go too deep into the political stuff.

Aristotelian friendship is traditionally interpreted that there are three kinds of friendship: friendship based on utility, pleasure, or virtue. “Friendships based on utility are convenient; that is, they involve the kind of familiarity one might have with another insofar as the two meet around some kind of activity or purpose such that their engagement furthers the achievement of their respective ends.” (Page 757, Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship’s Possibility­) So in other words, this kind of friendship is basically when one meets another with same interest and they can develop their relationship further based on this shared interest.

“Pleasurable friendships are those acquaintances that bring pleasure or are occasioned through our mutual participation in pleasurable activities.” (Page 757, Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship’s Possibility) This kind of friendship is based on enjoying each other’s company. As for virtue friendship, it is defined as proper or true friendship. Compare with the other two kinds, this one is the highest level of friendship. “ ‘Virtue’ friendship is, for Aristotle, ‘proper’ or ‘true’ friendship because it is what orients us to what is required of us by those we love and who live us.” (Page 758, Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship’s Possibility) Virtue friendship is rare and the most difficult to achieve.

Bibliography:

Bryan, Bradley. "Approaching Others: Aristotle on Friendship's Possibility." Political Theory. 754-779. 2009. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 22 Jan. 2011.