Essay Sample on Exploring Aristotle's Views on Friendship: Utility, Pleasure, and Virtue

Introduction

Although the concept of friendship has often drawn disagreements among various philosophers, its necessity and splendid nature remain un-debatable (Kaliarnta, 2016). According to Aristotle, the friendship of utility relates to the kind of friendship in which both individuals involved obtain some benefits from each other (Nascimento, 2017). However, Aristotle postulates that friendship of pleasure is where individuals are drawn to each other's good looks, wit, or some other admirable and pleasant qualities (Jang, 2018). I disagree with Aristotle on the concept of friendship since both friendship of utility and friendship of pleasure are merely accidental and deficient since the main motivations are pleasure and utility rather than any other essential attribute of the friend (Kaliarnta, 2016).

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Comparison and Contrast to Friendship of Virtue

Unlike friendship of virtue, the friendship of pleasure and utility is often short-lived since friends' pleasures and needs are prone to change with time. Aristotle notes that friendships for utility are often dissolved as soon as the pleasure and the advantage are removed; since the friendship was anchored on what was expedient for them (Jang, 2018). However, the friendship of virtue tends to be long-lasting and developed over a significant duration (Kaliarnta, 2016). It is essential to comprehend that bad people could form a friendship for reasons of utility and pleasure, while only good individuals could be friends for the sake of one another.

Moreover, individuals’ conceptions of happiness do not conform to true happiness since various people are essentially deficient in virtue (Kaliarnta, 2016). For instance, virtue relates to the tendency to behave in some acceptable manner, often cultivated from childhood (Nascimento, 2017). As such, a perfect virtuous friendship means that the partners love each other for their own sake. They thus wish the best for each other. When Aristotle notes that true friendship involves the partners seeking the benefits for others over themselves, he implies that the friends should have some form of joint effort in building the friendship.

However, Aristotle essentially views friendship as an energeia that is essentially anchored on happiness and pleasure (Jang, 2018). Thus, I consider friendship for virtue as the perfect friendship because those who are in such kinds of friendships tend to wish well for themselves (Nascimento, 2017). As such, friendships based on virtues tend to be long-lasting since they are good, and goodness is essentially an enduring quality (Kaliarnta, 2016).

It is important to note that in most of his writing about friendship, Aristotle notes that friendship of utility caters to the personal desires and interests of each partner in the relationship (Jang, 2018). Across his work, Aristotle makes a series of judgments and observations that weaken the value of friendship of utility (Kaliarnta, 2016). As compared to the friendship of virtue, the basic weakness of friendship of utility is that it does not serve as an end but rather a means.

The pleasant and good are revealed as merely loveable ends. Aristotle discovers that friendship for utility does not embody the essential virtues of friendships. For instance, the friendship of utility is often devoid of 'kindly feelings' for each other as well as mutual goodwill presented by other kinds of friendships (Jang, 2018). I agree with Aristotle that pleasure is dynamic. Thus the friendships anchored on such tend to fade with changes in pleasures. However, it is also agreeable that the love for pleasure is an inherent and perhaps legitimate form of friendship (Nascimento, 2017).

I also agree with Aristotle’s argument that, unlike the friendship of utility and pleasure, perfect friendship exists between virtuous individuals and not among some crooks. Indeed, perfect friendships last much longer and involve people wishing the best for each other. As such, perfect friendship tends to be more enduring.

As such, pleasure ought not to be shunned from friendships but rather embraced as being part and parcel of a good life (Nascimento, 2017). The act of loving and being loved essentially attracts some form of gratification, which is similar to other forms of friendships (Nascimento, 2017), basing his argument on what makes individuals contented. Aristotle admittedly acknowledges pleasure as part of the association (Jang, 2018). As such, it is also agreeable that the love of pleasure cannot be severed in any relationship (Kaliarnta, 2016).

Again, friendships based on pleasures could often be viewed as going to some extremes (Jang, 2018). For instance, unlike virtuous friendship, friendship for pleasure tends to develop a misguided emphasis on the love of pleasure rather than general good for each other (Nascimento, 2017). Also, the pleasure-seekers, in their pursuit of whims of desire, fail to take time to appraise the objects of their rapture more appropriately (Kaliarnta, 2016).

Aristotle highlights the nature of perfect friendship both as an activity and a virtue. It is agreeable that virtuous and perfect friendships are exceedingly rare and occur only among various individuals with exceptional virtue (Nascimento, 2017). In virtuous friendships, Aristotle notes that each individual can obtain an acceptable amount of pleasure within the right aspects of the other partner. Unlike friendship of virtue, the friendship of pleasure and utility is often short-lived since the pleasures and needs of friends are prone to change with time (Kaliarnta, 2016).

Most importantly, unlike in friendship of pleasure and utility, a virtuous friendship is anchored on mutual love for the betterment of each other (Nascimento, 2017). From the arguments by Aristotle, it could be deduced that friendships of utility and friendship of pleasure are basically deficient forms of friendships compared to virtuous friendships (Nascimento, 2017). I agree with Aristotle that pleasure is dynamic. Thus, the friendships anchored on such tend to fade with changes in pleasures (Nascimento, 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, although the concept of friendship has often drawn disagreements among various philosophers, its necessity and splendid nature still remain un-debatable. It is essential to note that the friendship of utility relates to the kind of friendship in which both individuals involved obtain some benefits from each other. On the other hand, the friendship of pleasure relates to the kind of friendship where individuals are drawn to each other's good looks, wit, or some other admirable and pleasant qualities

Virtue relates to the tendency to behave in some acceptable manner, which is often cultivated from childhood. I agree with Aristotle that pleasure is dynamic; thus, the friendships anchored on such tend to fade with changes in pleasures. As such, a perfect virtuous friendship is one that which the partners love each other for their own sake.

Concisely, based on the arguments by Aristotle, it is agreeable that the concept of friendship of utility and friendship of pleasure is merely accidental and deficient since the main motivations are pleasure and utility rather than any other essential attribute of the friend.

References

Jang, M. (2018). Aristotle’s Political Friendship (politike philia) as Solidarity. In Aristotle on Emotions in Law and Politics (pp. 417-433). Springer, Cham. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-66703-4_20

Kaliarnta, S. (2016). Using Aristotle’s theory of friendship to classify online friendships: A critical counterview. Ethics and Information Technology, 18(2), 65-79. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-016-9384-2

Nascimento, D. S. (2017). On the Normative Consequences of Virtue and utility Friendships in Aristotle. Retrieved August 4, 2020 from https://philpapers.org/rec/NASOTN