Tag: Nicomachaen Ethics

DDC 180-189: Questions, questions

This Is How We Dewey:

180 Ancient, medieval, and Eastern philosophy
181 Eastern philosophy
182 Pre-Socratic Greek philosophies
183 Socratic and related philosophies
184 Platonic philosophy
185 Aristotelian philosophy
186 Skeptic and Neoplatonic philosophies
187 Epicurean philosophy
188 Stoic philosophy
189 Medieval Western philosophy

I admit that I haven’t been exposed much to ancient philosophy, outside of that college philosophy class I’ve mentioned. I remember being especially taken by Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and its take on friendship. I love learning about different taxonomies and ways of looking at things we take for granted or don’t really think about that much. Like, what does love actually mean? What does it mean to genuinely love someone? When you start asking fundamental questions about the big yet basic elements of life, you begin quite the journey that will end either with your total enlightenment or a complete mental breakdown. Here’s hoping it’s the former.

The Dew3:

How Plato and Pythagoras Can Save Your Life: The Ancient Greek Prescription for Health and Happiness
By Nicholas Kardaras
Dewey: 180
Random Sentence: “But these sorts of abilities are possible–for those very special white crows.”

Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy
By Christopher Phillips
Dewey: 183.2
Random Sentence: “‘A hundred just sounds right,’ she says, affecting a seraphic grin.”

Mindful Yoga, Mindful Life: A Guide for Everyday Practice
By Charlotte Bell
Dewey: 181.45
Random Sentence: “I didn’t think about the orange-clad long-distance walker again until six years later.”

June 16, 2014 Add Comment

Right you are, Aristotle

We’re reading Nicomachaen Ethics in my Philosophy 100 class. In Book IX Aristotle talks about friendship and what it requires. The three kinds of friendship he describes are:

1. utility: where each party finds something of use in the other
2. pleasure: whether it be simply enjoying each others company or sharing a common interest
3. complete: where self-interest is put aside and total moral virtue towards each other is key.

Aristotle claims that one should only have very few complete friendships for they require a lot of work and attention to keep strong. It was also said that there should be no justice among complete friends, meaning one shouldn’t expect everything to remain even. We should be willing to do anything for our friends even if that means not being at even with them. That being said, there are certain necessities for friendship:

-there should be a conscious reciprocity, meaning that the love within the friendship should be able to go both ways
-and that doing things for your friend isn’t something done merely out of goodwill for them. We should be willing to do those things out of complete love for them and not out of charity.

The reason I’m writing about this is because after I heard all of this, I realized that my friendships are always like this. I always seem to need justice within my friendships. This feeling probably comes from the pride within all of us. CS Lewis talked about pride in Mere Christianity as an ugly beast inside of us that works completely against all the good we hope for. It therefore is linked to humility. I want to be able to serve and love my friends without the expectation of eventual justice. It’s a daily battle I think we all fight.

That’s my two pennies.

October 2, 2006 1 Comment