Just friends: Justice and friendship in the social theories of Aristotle and Epicurus

This dissertation covers the social theories of Aristotle and Epicurus, in particular, their respective conceptions and uses of justice and friendship. In analyzing the use of these concepts in these respective authors, there is an implicit criticism of the Aristotlean conception in the surviving fragments of Epicurus' social theory. In particular, whether friendship or justice is the key social bond and whether the law can have any pedagogical role in shaping the moral character of citizens. In order to address this implicit criticism, I have challenged a number of criticisms of these authors, in order to develop an interpretation of each thinker's social theory.