Aristotle and Friendship Essay Example

people who do not need the justice factor that acquaintances have are in the level of utility.They can do things for each other without expecting any reciprocation.

When a friendship can be described as one of utility or pleasure, then the people have only their own interest at heart (1156a15). According to Aristotle, these types of friendships can dissolve quickly because they can stop being pleasurable quickly. He does not factor in the level of justice between two people at a level of utility or pleasure. Aristotle’s highest level of friendship is perfect friendship. People who are in a perfect friendship care about each other’s entire soul; they strive to help each other perfect ethical and intellectual virtue.They also have similar virtues, which, although not necessarily identical, helps the two gain ethical and intellectual virtue.

Aristotle’s three levels of friendship is flawed. It disregards justice beyond the point of a friendship of utility. Justice is what makes friendship at an early stage work. It creates trust between two people.

At early stages of friendship people realize that if one person does a favor for them, they, at some point, need to do something in return. When these favors are exchanged, people begin to trust one another.What this trust is actually doing is habituating justice between two people. They are learning the median level of trust needed between each other.

Justice between friends is never lost in developing friendships, however the more justice has been habituated, the less the two people realize that there is a need for justice between them. This is not suggesting that it does not take time to habituate justice. Aristotle agrees,

and says that it is impossible to create a perfect friendship in a short amount of time (1156b25). He also adds that trust, similar to justice, must be proven between the two.Not having justice in a friendship means that the relationship between the two cannot really be considered a friendship at all.

If there is no justice, therefore no trust, then there is no friendship. Also, if one person thinks that they have a friendship of utility or even perfection with another, and therefore will do things for them simply because they are friends, yet the other does not believe the same constitutes for a friendship that is null and void. This is so because for any friendship to be true, the justice must be vacillate between the two. In this case, the justice is not returned; therefore the friendship is not real.Although Aristotle makes several arguments throughout Nicomachean Ethics that are totally valid, that he does not include justice as a continual part of friendship questions the superiority of his argument. Revising his argument to include the habituation of justice between friends would make it far superior.

This theory cannot be adequately applied to the practices of Niagara University as an educational institution. However, it can easily be applied to the students, faculty, and staff within the University. If everyone took some time to do good deeds for one another than we would all be happier.There would be less cheating, fighting, viciousness, and maliciousness on campus. Habituating ourselves to justice not only within our friendships but also in the way that we treat others would create a campus of very happy individuals, which would

in turn create a better University. In order to create successful relationships with others, it is important to habituate justice with another person.

This is extremely important in friendships. If everyone, especially the students, factuality, and staff of Niagara University, habituated justice the world would be a far better functioning place.