Everyone in life deserves a friend that does not look for a reward. I personally like the saying “it’s better to have loved than to have never loved at all”. I believe that you should be someone’s friend whole heartedly and if you cannot be that person’s friend whole heartedly then don’t be their friend at all. There is a saying that I have formed from my own personal experience and it is “If you can’t exist in peace, don’t exist in pieces”. Although, some may not agree with Cicero and may even prefer Aristotle’s views that he has about friendship; if what he says is true then why on earth would you want someone to do something for you just because they can get something in return?
Parties have to be concerned with the noble insofar as they are virtuous. Virtuous friends associate with the other person on account of their goodness and resemble each other in their virtues and their moral compasses are aligned. This is different from unequal friendship where the feelings and virtue are not reciprocated making friendships of virtue a unique guide in the pursuit of higher ideals in life. Types of friendship compare in various ways. First, both the utility and pleasure friendships have a comparison with the complete form of friendship.
Of course, it’s not always a good idea to judge friends in a detached way, or to doubt a friendship just because you can’t easily identify its rewards. The closest friends like each other for who they are in themselves, not for what they deliver. In fact, Aristotle made the point that it is better to give than to receive in friendship. Aristotle also believed that friendship can only arise indirectly, like happiness. It comes with living what he called a good life, including strong personal values such as honesty, character and passion.
Virtuous actions are about giving what one deserves. “a virtuous friend seems to be naturally desirable for a virtuous man. For that which is good by nature, we have said, is for the virtuous man good and pleasant in itself” (Aristotle 3). It is a matter of thinking and choosing what is good for the other person. .
He explains that “friendships are only complete in virtue if it is a friendship of good people. Good people are virtuous when they only wish goods in their friends the same way they wish good for themselves; and as long as the friendship continues to be good, virtuous will continue to be enduring” (Aristotle 446). Although Aristotle explains that these kind of friendships are rare because there are very few people who are like this, virtuous friendships will soon reflect a virtuous
The main points which differentiate a true friendship from a fake one is that a true friendship is a much more stable relationship that exists because the two people are friends for more than the sake of themselves. This means that people are friends for more than any kind of personal benefit. Friends of a true friendship are friends because they genuinely enjoy one another. From this definition, one can look back to Augustine’s early friendships and note another reason why they were not true ones. His “friends” were not with him because they wished to see him benefit, but because they wished to gain pleasure from seeing him worsen himself.
If someone is our friend, we should be glad to help them when they need us. And we can assume that this sentiment is reciprocal. That is what true friendship is about. Need of a true friend: We cannot live alone in society. A true friend is considered the most valuable asset that a person can possess.
Dependability...Trust...Virtue. These are three qualities that should come to mind when determining a valuable, true friendship. Although in today 's society, it has become a challenge to even understand who and what a friend is rather than a true friend. Back-stabbing, lies, and just in general drama seems to fit most people 's definition of friendship. So what would today 's society know about being a true friend?
Since men act in ways that bring their lives happiness, it is generally found that friendship brings happiness; however different kinds of friendship bring different types of happiness. Regardless of the type of friendship, what can be agreed and accepted is that the best type of friendship will be virtuous. “[G]oodwill, when it is reciprocal being friendship… To be friends, then, they must be mutually recognized as bearing goodwill and wishing well to each other” (Nicomachean Ethics, 8.2, 1155b-1156a 34- 5). Friendship requires reciprocal well-wishing, and mutual awareness based on lovable qualities, such as the good, the pleasant and the useful. By analyzing these three kinds of friendship, it will be proven that the friendship is a virtue or rather a good action.
They strive to do good for one another as well as to provide pleasure for each other. It is the longest and purest friendship of the three. “Those who desire the good of their friends for the friend’s sake that are most truly friends because each loves the other for what he is and not for any in accidental quality” (Aristotle 263). According to Aristotle, it is the rarest type of friendship, because a person has to able whiling to decade the time and intimacy that is needed to establish it, however by doing so, it makes the person vulnerable in which not many are whiling to do. One must also prove that they are worthy of the love and trust.