Friendship is a very important virtual life since it brings about friendship and honor towards people. Friendship is classified into three categories that include friendship of utility, friendship of pleasure, and friendships of virtue (Aristotle 139-132). In his friendship theories, Aristotle argues that friendship breaks down in to self-love, related to love of utility and love of pleasure (Walker pp. 180-196). Looking at the first kind of friendship, friendships with utility, these individuals come together in certain situations that may relate to work issues; example of employees in work places. Philosophers claim that such friends will only be together during certain occasions and thus have no feeling of love towards each other since their friendships are based on mutual benefit (Descartes 78). Friendships of utility are easily breakable once these individuals seize to contact each other, for example in case someone is transferred from one company to another.
Friendships of pleasure are characterized by people who always seek the company from each other since they enjoy staying together. Humans are social beings and will always seek comfort on one another. This kind of friendship is common among the youth looking for love mates (Aristotle 129-132). Feelings of Love and passion among friends characterize this type of friendship since they greatly influence people in this type of friendship A person’s moral behavior is shown through the various ways in which an individual behaves towards others (Perry 111-115). As such, once the feelings towards another person ends, the friends’ part ways and end up being enemies in most cases.
Finally, friendships of virtue are true-life friends and these people are difficult to separate. In most instances, this kind of friendship takes several years to form because individuals have to understand one another’s’ needs and wants (Aristotle 129-132). On the other hand, friendship of virtue becomes hard to form because people take time associating with other kind of friends thus limiting time for virtue friends. These three types of friendships form a relationship in one way or another. To start with, friendships of utility and passion are easily broken once the factor bringing people together seizes to exist. They no longer have anything in common and end up going their different ways (Aristotle 129-132). On the other hand, people become friends after being good to each other therefore friendships of passion, utility, and virtue have feelings for one another regardless of the relationship type (Walker pp. 180-196).
Cited Work
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Revised Edition. Trans. by David Ross. New York: Oxford
Descartes, R. Meditations on First Philosophy. 3rd Edition. Trans. by Donald A. Cress.
Hackett. 1993. ISBN-10: 0872201929
Perry, J. A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality. Hackett. 1978. 1978. ISBN-10:
0915144530
Walker, A.D. M. Aristotle Account of Friendship in the, Nicomachean Ethics. 24(2). pp. 180 196. 2009
