Review Of Aristotle Essay, Research Paper

There are several different types of friendship and within those types, there are different levels. One of the basic types is between the rich class and the poor class. It seems as if the wealthy need friends in order to share their possessions and belongs. After all, what good are money and material items without anybody to share them with? Those living near poverty need friends on a more desperate basis. They feel much more secure if they have friends to protect them when the road gets rough. (p. 688).

When we travel about, we may see a man with many friends. Often times we tend to think of this man as well liked, or possible a noble man. This thought is derived from the amount of friends around him. For example, there are two men. One has a single friend beside him. The other has five friends around him. Most likely, we will think of the man with five friends to be more noble and well liked than the man with one friend.

It is always good to have friends, after all, aren t two brains better than one? However, we must watch how we chose our friends. The ideal friendship, also known as the perfect relationship, is based on love and affection. How we choose our friends is all together different. It is like the old saying, Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If we have a real friend we wish him well for his own sake, not for the conversation s sake. This type of relationship is extremely rare; it takes two of a kind with similar interests and moral beliefs to form it.

The beneficial relationship between friends is one that gives enjoyment, self-gain, and goodness to one party. It is often referred to as friendship based on utility (p. 690). In other words, we receive some type of pleasure out of it. This is a very unhealthy relationship and will, in time, degrade one s status if it becomes publicly known.

In critiquing Aristotle s work, I must say that he has done an excellent job with writing this piece. I was able to relate to almost every part of it. The words and phrasing that he used were simple and easily understood, which made it very enjoyable to read. One of the things that I ve noticed in his work is that he uses the word love a great deal. This is the love that a friend feels for another friend, not an intimate love between a husband and wife.

Aristotle classifies the rich and poor with different thoughts on friends. I agree that the wealthy have friends in order to share their wealth and belongings. I also believe that wealth gives them superiority over their friends. In simpler terms, I feel that the majority of the wealthy have friends so they can brag about what they have and show off their possessions. This is not always true, but it is safe to say for the majority.

I have to disagree with Aristotle on his opinion of friends for the poorer class. He says that they have friends for a sense of security and protection. I have always thought that the lower class people have had a firmer grasp on the true meaning of friendship. The primary reason for this is that they aren t corrupted by money like a great deal of the wealthy are. Because those people living in poverty do not have much (in the way of material items), it is all the more reason for them to cherish friends and their relationships with them. I believe it is the poorer class the considers friendship one of the finer things in life.

Aristotle mentions that friendship is that which is good relatively to each individual that is lovable in his eyes. In my opinion, I see this as the classic quote, Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. This is so very true. As we all know, we are all different and we see each other in different ways. So it is only likely, that we will choose our friends through traits that we see appealing and attractive. If we are lucky enough, that person we choose as a friend will see us in the same manner, yielding a perfect friendship (p. 691). As Aristotle has mentioned, these kinds of friendships are rare, but extremely precious.

I believe that there is no such thing as a perfect friendship, because nothing in this world is perfect. However, we can come very close to it. Aside from virtue, this rare friendship is evident through eye contact, voice tone, and visible characteristics that need not be mentioned. It is almost like a sixth sense, or natural instinct, to be able to tell if one s friendship is a true one. It is an internal trait that we all carry which tells us whom we can really trust and consider a true friend.

Throughout this review, I believe that I have done a decent job of summarizing and critiquing Aristotle s Friendship. I have made it complex, with a simple tone to it. One of the two intellectual traits that I have carried out is Intellectual Humility. I do not consider myself a great philosopher, but I can hold my own. I know where my knowledge ends, and that is where I stop writing. For example, I am not rich, nor poor, so when I spoke of friendship between these two classes, I spoke in general. This is because I live neither of the two lives, which limits my knowledge regarding these classes.

The other intellectual trait, which I have carried out, is Intellectual Integrity. I have, indeed, used my own thoughts and ideas throughout the critiquing of Aristotle s work. I have incorporated my own standards of friendship into this paper and feel very secure about it.

Although I have practiced two of these traits, I have not carried out the standards of Intellectual Courage. There were some ideas regarding friendship that I could have wrote about, but didn t for fear of a poor argument. I would have to say that the main reason is that I might lack the ability to phrase and word my thoughts according to my beliefs.