Socrates, aristotle, and friendship: Does real friendship exist in the age of the social network

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the nature of friendship in the age of the social network in which instantaneous and frequent communication, using an ever expanding number of computer software packages, are utilized to gain, influence, and maintain friendships. This thesis' contention is that we are losing an understanding of the nature of friendship and that the true and perfect friendship is vanishing. The nature of friendship has evolved from friends that aid in the search for wisdom, virtue, and justice to large social networks of acquaintances and voyeurs with whom our interaction is shallow, lacking in trust and community. Utilizing the Socratic dialog Lysis and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, this thesis demonstrates that deep and perfect friendships are critical to the development of wisdom and virtue and their practice within communities.