Research On Cicero's Friendship Theory

Friendship is an important issue in ancient Greek philosophy.Since ancient Greece,it has been put forward and reflected as a puzzling issue for philosophers.Cicero's theory of friendship was deeply influenced by ancient Greek ideology and culture.His theory of friendship emphasized the inseparable relationship between friendship and virtue.But friendship and virtue did not have any connection at first.Their combination took place when ancient Greek philosophy turned to pay attention to human beings and human virtue became the focus of philosophical thought.The relationship between friendship and virtue is expressed differently in ancient Greek philosophical thought and Cicero's theory of friendship.Plato and Aristotle both think that friendship is a kind of virtue.Cicero presents a new form of relationship: virtue creates and maintains friendship.Friendship itself is not a kind of virtue.It comes from the resonance between two people's virtues.The practice of friendship actually becomes the practice of human virtue.People can not get friendship through direct life practice,but only through the practice of virtue.The close relationship between friendship and virtue is the most prominent feature of Cicero's theory of friendship,which has a profound ideological origin.Since the form of friendship is earlier than the formation of the theory of friendship,this paper first traces back the meaning of the words of friendship,aiming to find out the origin of Cicero's theory of friendship from the life habits of ancient Greece,to clarify the specific meaning of friendship expressed in the context of life in ancient Greece,and to explore some prominent manifestations of friendship in the Republican Era from ancient Greece to Rome,these specific forms are Cicero's theory of friendship forms the realistic foundation;it analyses the relationship between friendship expressed in Empedocle's theory and Cicero's theory of friendship;it explains the influence of Socrates' definition of things and the method of seeking knowledge on Cicero's method of seeking knowledge of friendship;at last,it combs out the natural view revealed by Cicero's theory of friendship with the core thought of Stoicism.Under the classical philosophical model represented by Plato and Aristotle,friendship is not only the guide of people's life practice,but also has political significance.Friendship is a virtue closely related to the community and a link to maintain social relations and even the relationship between people and the world.In order to maintain the harmony of the internal order of the Roman republic,Cicero consciously used his theory of friendship to guide people's real life and political practice.This paper also focuses on the political practice,moral practice and life practice of his theory of friendship,hoping to have a further understanding of Cicero's theory of friendship from the perspective of concrete practice.Although Cicero's theory of friendship is a repetition of ancient Greek philosophical thought in many places,its high banner has a great influence on the later generations' concept of friendship for the praise and promotion of virtue.