Originally, when Aristotle made the argument that one must love the self more than one's friend, I had an uneasy feeling inside. If one had friend, who was not virtuous, and who had friendships based on pleasure, self-love would be bad indeed. However, in a friendship based on the goodness of character and an active action for the sake of the good, self-love does not turn out to be so bad.
Mr. Miller made an interesting observation in his blog, and was also something I was going to talk about in mine. Are friendships healthy when two people are at different levels of virtue? (i.e. one person is at the level of virtue, while someone else is at the level of self-restraint). I believe these relationship are not necessary, but definitely help one who is not as mature and virtuous become better faster. A lot of times, when one sees and example laid before them, it gives the lesser person the desire to be better and persevere when obstacles come in the way.
As far as the best friendships go however, I believe the two people must be on the same level of virtue. If the two are on different levels, one will not grow and continue to be pressed to be better, and the other will be dragged from behind. In a perfectly healthy friendship, the two people of equal virtue will be able to encourage one another and thus strengthen each others relationship for the sake of the beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment