Friendship Without Justice

Friendship Without Justice

In Aristotle's book, The Nicomachean Ethics, he believes that if we have friendship, there is no need for justice. Aristotle is saying this in the quote; "Friendship seems too to hold states together, and lawgivers to care more for it than justice; for concord seems to be something like friendship, and this they aim at most of all, and expel faction as their worst enemy, and when men are friends they have no need of justice." (pp 192-193) If you have a true friendship that is filled with trust, loyalty, and love, then you will not need justice in that friendship because the moral principal that will make up a righteous conduct will already be present in that friendship.

According to Aristotle, if we lived a life of wealth, and if we had all the material goods, we would be unhappy without friends. A life without friends is no life at all. This is true because if we did not have friends, we would have nobody to show our material goods too. It is impossible to live a happy life without friends. Aristotle believes that the ultimate good is happiness. Many people have a hard time understanding the keys to form happiness. It is fair to say that in every life, our goal is to end our lives happy. Every virtue and blessing we have in our life is good not only because of their meanings but they are good because they make us happy.

What Aristotle says about the relationship between friendship and justice is that with friendship, there is no need for justice. He says this because when we think about friendship, they consist of all good things such as honesty, loyalty, and happiness. If we have a true friendship, there is no need for justice because friendship is a much more powerful aspect, and justice should already have a place in that friendship.

Aristotle believes that friendships are based on self love first. (pp 227) I can agree with this to a certain extent, but it can also go the other way. If you were the type of person that had a low self esteem, and felt no love towards yourself, it is possible to be loved by another individual first. A person can go out of their way to love you, which would then make you love them, eventually leading to self love.

Another disagreement I have with what Aristotle is saying is when he says; "But if one accepts another man as good, and he turns out badly and is seen to do so, must one still