friendship

Question 1

21 friendship gets a lot of philosophical attention in the ancient world, especially in contrast to ‘family.’ Explain the important differences between Aristotle and Epicurus on friendship. What might Stoics and Cynics have thought about the value of friendship? (6)

Answer 1

• philosophy/religion distinction friendship/family
• Aristotle and Epicurus’ quotes on friendship
• Aristotle the perfectionist: 1. pleasurable friends 2. utility friends 3. true friends
• jesus vs aristotle on friendship
• Epicurus’ dismantle of Aristotle’s dogmatic categorization: no discrimination on WHO or WHAT KIND
• Stoics/Cynics: not interested or doesn’t friendship as valuable b/c of self-sufficiency and non-particularity

Question 2

In philosophy, we hold in high-regard FRIENDSHIP whereas, in religion…

Answer 2

….we hold in high-regard FAMILY. Among philosophers, Aristotle and Epicurus put friendship in the highest pedal stool

Question 3

Aristotle’s quote on friendship

Answer 3

For without friends, no one would choose to live, even if he have all

Question 4

Epicurus’ principal doctrine #27

Answer 4

of all the things that wisdom prepares for insuring life long happiness, by far the greatest is the possession of friends

Question 5

Aristotle the perfectionist had strict and dogmatic categories for friendship (3)

Answer 5

1. pleasurable friendships: important for civic relations
2. utility friendships: share life, share resources, reciprocal, necessity
3. true friendships: when someone becomes your second-self

Question 6

requirements of “true friendships”

Answer 6

1. true friends are e as rare as the big-souled man
2. only equals can be true friends (virtuous man with virtuous man) so no husband and wife and no woman with woman
3. can only be platonic because sexual desire disrupts the trueness of friendships
4. we should be DISCRIMINATORY towards who is our true friends

Question 7

Jesus and Aristotle’s distinction on friendship

Answer 7

Jesus: “you’re my friends if you do what I command you”
Aristotle: true friends don’t have the quality of commanding/obeying

Question 8

Epicurus’ response to Aristotelian dogmatic categorization of friendship

Answer 8

Epicurus doesn’t discriminate WHO can have friendships (gender, age, class) or WHAT KIND it could be (pleasurable, sexual, platonic)
Think of the Epiucrean commune

Question 9

Cynicsm’s take on friendship

Answer 9

“the noble man ignores the opinion of the many and even welcomes a bad reputation”

• not much care for friendship or anything custom (nomos) only nature (physis)!
• the virtue of: self-sufficiency and inner virtue is sufficient not outwards. Cynics are wanderers.

Question 10

Stoics take:

Answer 10

Cosmopolitan: we are citizens of the world, so in some sense value of fellow humans is in stoicism that’s not in cynicism

However, Stoics chase non-feeling and non-particularity to face life troubles, but if this applies to relations: it seems that Stoics don’t see the importance of friendship.