3 Types Of Friendship According To Aristotle

Aristotle always placed particular emphasis on the concept of friendship. He wrote about it as a valuable possession and a path to a good life. He also said that you will meet in three different types of friendships. Only one of them can be a really good relationship: a wonderful, selfless, meaningful bond.

As most people know, Aristotle was a universal genius. His knowledge, or to put it better, his great curiosity, helped him to become an expert in various subjects such as logic, science, philosophy.

You really see it when you read books like The Nicomachean Ethics . It was where he talked about people as extremely social creatures. He says that we are like social animals, and therefore friendship is the happiest way for us to live together.

Due to the limitations of his time, the Greek sage had no chance to learn about the mysteries of the brain, but modern science has shown that it needs social interaction to develop, survive and be healthy. We are completely social creatures. But our relationships must be set on a solid foundation.

3 types of friendship

So often we see philosophers as respectable, but a fountain of wisdom that is far away. They are voices from a long time ago that you occasionally quote to teach people about something. But we do not think they have much to do with today’s life.

However, nothing can be further from the truth. In fact, with all this existential anxiety we have now, it’s the perfect time to rediscover ancient wisdom.

The Nicomachean ethics is an excellent example of an old self-help book. They are about how to get happiness and how relationships fit into our daily lives. Aristotle believed that friendship is where you learn to give and receive.

But that does not mean he thought of it as transactional. Because he also said that “it is not noble to hope for services in return, because only a shameless person requires benefactors, and friendship is above all a freedom. It is the most virtuous state of being. ”

And this is where Aristotle’s idea of ​​the three types of friendship comes in. Let’s look at them now.

Self-interested friendship

It is well known that some people use others for their own gain. Some people do it a lot, and other people will never think about it. Then there is the small group of people who think of friendships like this, to get something out of it.

It is true that you can always expect to get something out of it: support, confidence, good times, etc. But there are people who will flatter and manipulate you to get very different kinds of things: social status, recognition ...

Friendship just for fun

This is one of the three types of friendships that you are probably aware of. This is the type that usually appears when you are a child or teenager. But later, as you become more selective, more careful, and use the right filters, you begin to realize that this kind of friendship is a double-edged sword.

But how is a self-interested friendship and a pleasure-based friendship different? In the first type, someone tries to benefit from the friendship (services, access to other people, recognition, etc.). In the second type, all they want is to “feel good.”

They are people who live an empty, meaningless, hedonistic lifestyle, where the only reason they want to spend time with other people is to have a relaxing or fun time. So if you need real support for a problem, or when things are not going well, your fake friend will evaporate into thin air.

The perfect friendship

The last of Aristotle’s three types of friendship is dey ideal. It’s the most solid type – and the rarest – but it’s still possible. It is a friendship that goes beyond benefit or pleasure. Instead, you really value the other person for who they are.

There is also generosity here because you are not trying to get anything out of it. All you want is to have a great time together, share your lives, and be a shoulder to lean on.

It is based on kindness, and Aristotle even said that it was almost like a romantic partnership. Because in the end , perfect friends, true friends, do not come often in this life.

There are not many of them out there, but they are the people you can be deeply intimate with and not worry that they will beat your hand off. They are the people you share experiences, memories and promises with, the kind that neither time nor distance can break apart.

It is quite possible that right now you have all three that the types of friendships Aristotle mentions. People who want something from you, friends who just want to be around you fun times, and wonderful people who are there, no matter what happens.

Let’s celebrate the friends you would not trade for anything, those who make life’s journey so much easier and more interesting…