Aristotle's concept on virtue

A detailed Summary of Aristotle's concept on virtue

"(Friendship)... is some sort of excellence or virtue, and it is, moreover, most indispensable for life(Aristotle, 214).

In his writing, Aristotle claims that without friendship it is merely impossible for one to live a complete and virtuous life. In this paper I will compare the virtues of the good person to those of the bad person. I will also explain the difference between the three kinds of friendships and how what kind of friendship one has depends on the kind of virtues you have. Finally I will attempt to explain self-love, because in order for us to be good friends and to have good friends Aristotle says that we must first be good friends with ourselves. I will prove to you that it is indeed impossible to live a happy life without a good friendship.

In order to understand friendship, one must first understand the virtue of oneself. Aristotle puts virtue in a hierarchical form starting from the top and working down, the hierarchy is as follows:

At the top of the hierarchy is the super virtuous person or the Megalospsychia. This person is at the top of the hierarchy because his practical reason is much stronger th

an his desire. His soul's desire and his practical reason are not in conflict. The middle of the hierarchy, the strong-willed and weak-willed souls, is the area in which one's soul lives in constant conflict between desire and reason. The reason in the strong-willed person will usually win over the desire. Whereas in the weak-willed soul, the desire of the soul will overcome the soul's reason. As you get further down the hierarchy, past the weak-willed the appetite for desire becomes much stronger than the practical reason. In other words, almost everything one does is done for the sole purpose of selfish pleasure.

In order for a man to obtain a good friendship, he must be at least virtuous on the hierarchy of virtue. For if his desire is greater than his practical reason, he finds himself in relationships that are based purely on pleasure and ones own personal benefits.

Aristotle states, "We may conclude that a friend is something desirable. But what is desirable for a happy man he must have or else he will be deficient in that respect (and consequently, not supremely happy)(Aristotle, 267)." Here he says that friends are a part of our own self and that even if everything else in one's life is perfectly virtuous, but he does not have a good friend, then it is impossible for him to be truly happy.

Useful friendships are most commonly found among old people. It is within this age group that one pursues a friendship from which he will be benefited.

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Approximate Word count = 991
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People