Aristotle On Justice And Friendship Essay by Top Papers

Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, discusses the nature of the classical Greek virtues and how they interrelate within the body politic of societies. One of the most fascinating aspects of this discussion is Aristotle's analysis of the respective virtues of justice and friendship, for while he represents justice as being virtue in its entirety, in another sense he suggests that friendship is more important than virtue. As this essay will argue, while Aristotle contends that friendship can exist without justice, for him justice cannot exist without friendship. However, as the highest form of friendship - "perfect friendship" - is the friendship of men who are just, it cannot be said that friendship is more important than justice to society. Instead, the two are intimately intertwined. From the perspective of the interests of society or the state, while justice is necessary for the society to operate effectively, friendship is necessary for a society to operate at a higher level of functioning.