The Philosopher’s Zone – Friendship

Intro

In this episode of “The Philosopher’s Zone,” the focus is on the concept of friendship. The host explores various perspectives on friendship, including Aristotle’s definition of different types of friendships and the role of friendship in women’s philosophy. The episode also highlights the importance of conscious effort in choosing and cultivating meaningful friendships.

Main Takeaways

Aristotle’s Types of Friendship

• Aristotle defined three types of friendship: based on utility, pleasure, or goodness.
• The third type, based on goodness, is often called a character friendship where you value the goodness or virtue that you see embodied in the person with whom you are friends.
• According to Aristotle, in order to achieve a character friendship, both people must have good characters or be perfectly virtuous agents.
• Aristotle believes that being virtuous requires mastering a collection of different traits.
• Virtuous character is necessary to be loved by another virtuous person.

Friendship in Women’s Philosophy

• Mary Astell, an early 18th-century philosopher, wrote about friendship and has been described as the first English feminist.
• In the early modern period, there emerges a fair amount of writing by women on the subject of friendship, including friendship between men and women and among women themselves.
• The history of philosophy of friendship is largely written discussing strictly male friendships.
• The increase in women’s philosophical writing in this period is due to increased literacy rates, the invention of the printing press, and the availability of literature containing good ideas.
• Salons and intellectual circles also played a role in the informal exchange of ideas, with many women involved.

Mary Astell’s Perspective on Friendship

• Mary Astell believed in living a feminist life despite the challenges of her time.
• She advocated for the idea that marriage should be premised on a kind of friendship and that unhappy marriages could be avoided.
• Astell emphasized the importance of friendship, believing it to be one of the greatest goods of human life and a part of the educative process of improving in wisdom, virtue, happiness, and ultimately salvation.
• As a friend, it’s your duty to tell your friend what you perceive them to be missing when it comes to achieving wisdom and virtue.
• True friends don’t have to be perfectly virtuous, but they should be working towards achieving virtue and helping each other out with improving on moral failings.

Cultivating Meaningful Friendships

• Friendship requires time, effort, and a deliberate process, which becomes more calculated as we get older.
• Choosing friends should be a conscious effort, looking at the character and potential of the person and seeing whether it reflects what we value.
• Friendship should not be passive but an active role in choosing friends and helping each other achieve the goods of wisdom and virtue.
• Friendship is a great good in life but often neglected due to increasing demands from work, family, and other commitments.
• Consciously setting friendship as a priority can help guide decision-making and cultivate meaningful relationships.

Summary

Aristotle’s Types of Friendship

Aristotle classified friendships into three types: based on utility, pleasure, or goodness. The third type, characterized by goodness, involves valuing the virtue embodied in the other person. Aristotle believed that achieving a character friendship required both individuals to possess good characters or be perfectly virtuous. Being virtuous involves mastering various traits and is necessary to be loved by another virtuous person.

Friendship in Women’s Philosophy

While the history of philosophy of friendship predominantly focuses on male friendships, there was an emergence of women’s philosophical writing on friendship during the early modern period. This increase in women’s philosophical writing was influenced by factors such as increased literacy rates, the printing press, and access to literature containing good ideas. Salons and intellectual circles also provided spaces for the informal exchange of ideas among women.

Mary Astell’s Perspective on Friendship

Mary Astell, an early feminist philosopher, emphasized the importance of friendship as one of the greatest goods in human life. She believed that friendship played a crucial role in the educative process of improving in wisdom, virtue, happiness, and salvation. Astell advocated for the idea that marriage should be based on friendship, enabling individuals to avoid unhappy marriages. According to Astell, true friends don’t have to be perfectly virtuous, but they should be working towards achieving virtue and helping each other improve morally.

Cultivating Meaningful Friendships

Friendship requires time, effort, and a deliberate process. As we age, the process of choosing friends becomes more calculated. It is important to consciously choose friends based on their character and potential, ensuring that they align with our values. Friendship should be an active role in helping each other achieve wisdom and virtue. Despite the increasing demands of work, family, and other commitments, consciously prioritizing friendship can lead to cultivating meaningful relationships.

Conclusion

Friendship, as explored through Aristotle’s philosophy and Mary Astell’s feminist perspective, highlights the importance of virtue, conscious effort, and mutual support in cultivating meaningful relationships. By understanding the different types of friendship and actively choosing friends who align with our values, we can prioritize friendship as a great good in life and experience its transformative power.