Plato

1
Platos Lysis (Part II)Aristotles Nicomachean
Ethics VII

• Philosophy of Love and Sex

2
A definition of friendly love?

• a That which is neither good nor evil is a
  friend to b good on account of c an evil to
  which it i.e., a is an enemy, for the sake of
  d a good to which it is a friend (219B).
• If the son is sick, and the doctor prescribes
  wine for the son, the father (a neither good nor
  evil) is friends to the wine (b good) on account
  of sickness (c an evil), for the sake of health
  (d a good).
• Refinement can omit the evil. Health would be
  valuable even if there were no sickness.
• a That which is neither good nor evil is a
  friend to b good, for the sake of d a good to
  which it i.e., a is a friend
• Puzzle This seems to generates an endless
  regress of goods. A is a friend to B for the
  sake of C A is a friend to C for the sake of D
  A is a friend to D for the sake of E.
• Solution Eventually we reach a case where good b
  good d, and A is a friend to it for its own
  sake.
• Some things we are friends with for their own
  sake. What are these? Persons? Forms? Happiness?

3
The ending

• At the end, Socrates explores what it is that we
  desirethat which is natural to human beings.
• He is unsatisfied with his answers.
• The discussion ends with the paradox that we
  dont know what friendship is even though we
  think we are friends.

4
Aristotle

• 384BC-322BC
• Platos most famous student
• teacher of Alexander the Great
• Our discussion will be adequate if it has as
  much clearness as the subject-matter admits of
  for precision is not to be sought for alike in
  all discussions, any more than in all the
  products of the crafts. Now fine and just
  actions, which political science investigates,
  exhibit much variety and fluctuation, so that
  they may be thought to exist only by convention,
  and not by nature. And goods also exhibit a
  similar fluctuation because they bring harm to
  many people for before now men have been undone
  by reason of their wealth, and others by reason
  of their courage. We must be content, then, in
  speaking of such subjects and with such premisses
  to indicate the truth roughly and in outline, and
  in speaking about things which are only for the
  most part true and with premisses of the same
  kind to reach conclusions that are no better. In
  the same spirit, therefore, should each of our
  statements be received for it is the mark of an
  educated man to look for precision in each class
  of things just so far as the nature of the
  subject admits it is evidently equally foolish
  to accept probable reasoning from a mathematician
  and to demand from a rhetorician demonstrative
  proofs. (NE I)

5
Three kinds of friendship

• Friendship (philia) is a kind of love
• Love needs a reasoncant just love pond scum
  unless one finds something loveable in it
• Three kinds of reasons for loving x
• x is good (character friendship)
• x may or may not be good, but produces
• an actual good (utility friendship)
• a good feeling (pleasure friendship)

6
Differences

• In all forms of friendship, we wish the friend
  well
• but for different reasons
• because the friend benefits us when she is doing
  well (utility)
• because the friend is more pleasant when she is
  doing well (pleasure)
• because the friends doing well is good in itself
  (character)
• In utility and pleasure friendships, the other is
  fungible (someone else would do just as well if
  she was as useful or pleasant)
• In character friendship, we appreciate the other
  for who she is
• It takes virtue to recognize virtue, so only the
  virtuous can have character friendships

7
Permanence

• Which friendship lasts longest?
• Virtue (excellence of character) is lasting.
• Utility and pleasure depends on changing features
  of both lover and beloved

8
Loving under a description

• In Aristotles theory, in all three cases one
  loves under a description
• one loves the other as good, or as useful, or
  as pleasant

9
Exhaustiveness?

• Do all kinds of friendship fall into this?
• What about a friendship between three Nazis,
  dedicated to the purity of the Aryan race? What
  kind of friendship is it?

10
Imperfect cases?

• We are not virtuous. Can we have character
  friendship?
• Without virtue, can we recognize virtue?
• Maybe it does take virtue to recognize virtue,
  but it doesnt take the same virtue.
• A lazy person can recognize the value of Thomas
  Edisons hard workbut only because she has some
  virtues (practical wisdom prudence?)