{"id":192,"date":"2021-03-29T10:31:46","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T10:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/chapter\/1-uses-of-friendship-differences-of-opinion-about-it\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:28:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:28:44","slug":"1-common-opinions-about-friendship","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/chapter\/1-common-opinions-about-friendship\/","title":{"rendered":"Section 1: Common opinions about friendship"},"content":{"raw":"[1155a3]<\/sub> After what we have said, a discussion of friendship would naturally follow, since friendship is a virtue or implies virtue. Besides this, friendship is most necessary with a view to living. For no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all other [5]<\/sub> good things. Even the wealthy and those who are rulers or have positions of power are thought to need friends most of all. For what is the use of such prosperity without the opportunity of benefiting people, which is exercised chiefly and in its most laudable form towards friends? Or how can prosperity be protected and preserved without friends? The greater prosperity is, the more is it exposed to risk. [10] <\/sub>Likewise, in poverty and in other misfortunes, people think friends are the only refuge.\r\n\r\nFriendship also helps the young, keeping them from error. It aids older people too, by caring for their needs and supplementing the activities that are failing from weakness. Finally, in the case of those in the prime of life, friendship stimulates them to noble actions--\"two going together\"--for [15]<\/sub> with friends, people are better able both to understand and to act.\r\n\r\nFurther, parents seems by nature to feel friendship for their offspring and offspring for parents, not only among human beings but among birds and most animals. Friendship is a mutual feeling among members of the same nation, and especially by human beings one to another, which is why we praise those who love mankind. [20]<\/sub> Even in our travels, we can see how every human is kin and friend to every other.\r\n\r\nFriendship also seems to hold states together, and lawmakers are even more concerned for friendship than for justice. For unanimity seems to be something like friendship, and this is what lawmakers aim at most of all [25]<\/sub> and expel faction as their worst enemy. And when people are friends, they have no need for justice, while when they are just they need friendship as well, and the truest form of justice is thought to be a friendly quality.\r\n\r\nBut friendship is not only something necessary, but also noble. For we praise those who love their friends, and it is thought to be a beautiful thing to have many friends. [30]<\/sub> And again, we think it is the same people that are good people and are friends.\r\n\r\nMore than a few things about friendship are matters of debate. Some define friendship as a kind of likeness and say that people who are like one another are friends. From this comes the sayings \"like to like,\" \"birds of a feather flock together,\" and so on. Others on the contrary say [35]<\/sub> \"two of a trade never agree.\"\r\n\r\nOn this question [1155b1]<\/sub> people inquire for deeper natural causes. Euripides says that \"parched earth loves the rain, and stately heaven when filled with rain loves to fall to earth.\" Heraclitus says that \"it is what opposes that helps\" and \"from different tones comes the fairest tune\" [5]<\/sub> and \"all things are produced through strife.\" Empedocles, as well as others, expresses the opposite view that like aims at like.\r\n\r\nThese problems of the natural world we may leave alone, for they do not belong to the present inquiry. Let us examine those that are human and involve character and feeling--for example, [10]<\/sub> whether friendship can arise between any two people or whether people cannot be friends if they are wicked, and whether there is one species of friendship or more than one. Those who think there is only one because friendship admits of degrees have relied on an inadequate indication. For even things different in species admit of degree. We have discussed this matter [15]<\/sub> previously.","rendered":"

[1155a3]<\/sub> After what we have said, a discussion of friendship would naturally follow, since friendship is a virtue or implies virtue. Besides this, friendship is most necessary with a view to living. For no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all other [5]<\/sub> good things. Even the wealthy and those who are rulers or have positions of power are thought to need friends most of all. For what is the use of such prosperity without the opportunity of benefiting people, which is exercised chiefly and in its most laudable form towards friends? Or how can prosperity be protected and preserved without friends? The greater prosperity is, the more is it exposed to risk. [10] <\/sub>Likewise, in poverty and in other misfortunes, people think friends are the only refuge.<\/p>\n

Friendship also helps the young, keeping them from error. It aids older people too, by caring for their needs and supplementing the activities that are failing from weakness. Finally, in the case of those in the prime of life, friendship stimulates them to noble actions–“two going together”–for [15]<\/sub> with friends, people are better able both to understand and to act.<\/p>\n

Further, parents seems by nature to feel friendship for their offspring and offspring for parents, not only among human beings but among birds and most animals. Friendship is a mutual feeling among members of the same nation, and especially by human beings one to another, which is why we praise those who love mankind. [20]<\/sub> Even in our travels, we can see how every human is kin and friend to every other.<\/p>\n

Friendship also seems to hold states together, and lawmakers are even more concerned for friendship than for justice. For unanimity seems to be something like friendship, and this is what lawmakers aim at most of all [25]<\/sub> and expel faction as their worst enemy. And when people are friends, they have no need for justice, while when they are just they need friendship as well, and the truest form of justice is thought to be a friendly quality.<\/p>\n

But friendship is not only something necessary, but also noble. For we praise those who love their friends, and it is thought to be a beautiful thing to have many friends. [30]<\/sub> And again, we think it is the same people that are good people and are friends.<\/p>\n

More than a few things about friendship are matters of debate. Some define friendship as a kind of likeness and say that people who are like one another are friends. From this comes the sayings “like to like,” “birds of a feather flock together,” and so on. Others on the contrary say [35]<\/sub> “two of a trade never agree.”<\/p>\n

On this question [1155b1]<\/sub> people inquire for deeper natural causes. Euripides says that “parched earth loves the rain, and stately heaven when filled with rain loves to fall to earth.” Heraclitus says that “it is what opposes that helps” and “from different tones comes the fairest tune” [5]<\/sub> and “all things are produced through strife.” Empedocles, as well as others, expresses the opposite view that like aims at like.<\/p>\n

These problems of the natural world we may leave alone, for they do not belong to the present inquiry. Let us examine those that are human and involve character and feeling–for example, [10]<\/sub> whether friendship can arise between any two people or whether people cannot be friends if they are wicked, and whether there is one species of friendship or more than one. Those who think there is only one because friendship admits of degrees have relied on an inadequate indication. For even things different in species admit of degree. We have discussed this matter [15]<\/sub> previously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-192","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":191,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1294,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/192\/revisions\/1294"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/191"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/192\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=192"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=192"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/nicomacheanethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}