Aristotle's Thought Of Friendship

As an ethical virtue related to others and a personal relationship with beauty and kindness in ancient Greek society,friendship occupies an extremely important position in Aristotle`s virtue ethics.Aristotle attached great important to friendship.He used two parts to explain friendship in Nicomachean Ethics,and a part in Eutemus Ethics.At the same time,Aristotle also discussed friendship in rhetoric,politics and ethics.Through the discussion of friendship,Aristotle realized the transition from individual ethics to interpersonal ethics,turned from the relationship between individuals and others to find the way to achieve the highest good that is happiness,and from the inherent good and virtue of citizens to find the way to achieve good city-state.Aristotle did not make a complete definition of friendship,by combing his thoughts,we can think that friendship is a kind of interpersonal relationship that belongs to human beings,out of action and practice,and is the virtue quality of the unity of reason and emotion guided by the soul logos.At the same times,Aristotle divided friendship into different categories,which essentially reflected the evolution path of human communication from need to sharing,from private communication to public communication.In order to further maintain friendship,Aristotle regard rational and unselfish self-love,goodwill of mutual knowledge and mutual return,time and quantity restriction,and co-existence and sharing of common life as the necessary conditions for further improvement and expansion of friendship.At the same time,as an ethical virtue,friendship is closely related to happiness and justice.Friendship is not only the first premise of happiness and self-sufficiency,but also indispensable to the realization of happiness,and the most important thing is external goodness.As a virtue related to others,friendship not only complements justice,but also maintains the stability of city-state together,and it is the emotional guarantee that justice can exert the greatest influence.Aristotle`s idea of friendship has some limitation in the scope and object of application due to the reason of the times and classes,such as the slave lords and aristocrats stopping friendship between citizens,as citizens of the small state and the city state,and the great narrowness and ideal of friendship.But Aristotle`s idea of friendship still has important historical and contemporary value.In the war,friendship and love give personal comfort,not only is the important guarantee to maintain the harmony and stability of the city,but also the necessary way for the individual to realize the best and happiness.Meanwhile,Aristotle`s systematic and comprehensive explanation of friendship also laid a theoretical foundation for the later philosophers to study friendship.In a harmonious society,Aristotle`s idea of friendship in society can not only help improve individual moral cultivation,alleviate conflicts and contradictions in communication,create a harmonious and friendly social atmosphere,but also help break the boundaries of interpersonal communication,break the gap between countries and establish a community of ethical destiny of friendship together.