Friendship and the Virtues

As we have discussed in class virtues are necessary to lead the good life. Some of the authors we have discussed (such as Epicurus) have mentioned that friendship and connections to others play a part in leading the good life. I find that I agree strongly with their view that friendship is important. If we had read more of the Nicomachean Ethics then we would have seen a more detailed account of Aristotle’s views on friendship. In general he says that each thing that has substance (matter and form) has a Telos, or some sort of ultimate goal to fulfill in order to achieve eudaimonia. Aristotle proposes that eudaimonia, or a state of flourishing, is the Telos of humans. How then are we supposed to reach this state of flourishing? As the Nicomachean Ethics suggests, we achieve this through the cultivation of virtues. In our reading we see that virtue is defined as a mean, relative to the individual, determined by reason that is defined by the person of practical wisdom. We also know that the only way to cultivate these virtues is through practice, for no person is born a virtuous.

This is where friendship plays an important role in the human life. Through friendship we are able to practice, or cultivate, different virtues. We practice generosity through our friends and family. We practice honesty by not stealing from or lying to our friends and telling them the truth when it is necessary and beneficial. We also learn different virtues by modeling the adults in our lives and our fellow peers. We see what not to do in certain situations. Without friendship we have little to no opportunities to practice the virtues because without others we cannot find our respective means. It should be noted that when I use the term friendship I also include the relationships between family, instructors, classmates, and students, just as Aristotle did. A person that lives alone cannot practice honesty nor can that person practice loyalty. I suppose that it is possible to practice courage and other virtues but I would argue that such a person couldn’t attain happiness from practicing virtues that are not understood. As Epicurus says, one that does not have knowledge about a pleasurable activity can receive no pleasure from it; and this relates to the happiness produced from cultivating the virtues. The person with the Ph. D in swimming knows what virtue is while the person that swims daily is the one that exhibits that virtue, but isn’t the person that swims and has the Ph. D the happiest because they understand virtue and can exhibit it?

The answer is yes by the way.