Aristotle and the Philosophy of Friendship

Description

This is the first book to offer a comprehensive account of the major philosophical works on friendship and its relationship to self-love. The book gives central place to Aristotle's searching examination of friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics. Lorraine Pangle argues that the difficulties surrounding this discussion are soon dispelled once one understands the purpose of the Ethics as both a source of practical guidance for life and a profound, theoretical investigation into human nature. The book also provides fresh interpretations of works on friendship by Plato, Cicero, Epicurus, Seneca, Montaigne and Bacon. The author shows how each of these thinkers sheds light on central questions of moral philosophy: is human sociability rooted in neediness or strength? is the best life chiefly solitary, or dedicated to a community with others? Clearly structured and engagingly written, this book will appeal to a broad swathe of readers across philosophy, classics and political science.

First Sentence

In the Lysis, Socrates' dialogue with two young friends about friendship, Socrates pursues the unsettling idea that all friendship is rooted in human neediness and defectiveness and is treasured only because and only to the extent that we hope to get from others things that we are unable to provide for ourselves.

Subjects

Other Editions

• Aristotle and the Philosophy of FriendshipHardcoverCambridge University Press2002-12-23
• Aristotle and the Philosophy of FriendshipE-bookCambridge University Press2002-01-01
• Aristotle and the Philosophy of FriendshipCambridge University Press2003-01-01
• Aristotle and the Philosophy of FriendshipCambridge University Press2009-01-01
• Aristotle and the Philosophy of FriendshipPaperbackCambridge University Press2009-05-01