Free Why We Need Friends: Nicomachean Ethics Essay Sample
According to Aristotle, people need and seek friends both in good fortune as well as during misfortunes. Men do need help when they are met with adversities and at the same time, they need people to be with, to share and for companionships to secure a good life even in prosperity. Aristotle wrote that it is those useful friends that men need most during misfortunes because grief is lessened when people mourn with their friends. In a noble perspective, in moments of fortune, they seek for good men as a self fulfilling show of goodness and kindness to them as their associates.
As per his article, the mere existence of friendships also seems to derive a mixture of issues. It is pleasing to look at one’s friends during adversity because somehow friends do shield against grief and friends do know how to comfort each other. On the other hand one would not like to see his or her friend pained by their own misfortunes. It is human nature for one to avoid being a source of pain to friends and only the highly insensitive of men can bear giving pain to their friends since they are not given to endure pain themselves. It is the likes of weak women and womanly men who like people to grief with them but Aristotle says that it is only safe to emulate those of noble nature.
Again, in prosperity, the presence of friends makes one’s times of leisure to be great and at the same time makes one to be aware of the leisure of friends in one’s welfare. It therefore seems right to readily invite friends to share in good fortune since conferring benefits is noble but act reluctantly in calling friends to assist in misfortune because one should cause as little evil as possible to friends. One should call for aid from friends only when friends are of great service at the little of their cost and troubles possible. A friend as well should always be ready to help in adversity without necessarily being asked for it is of mutual beneficence and at the same time act cautiously while being their object of beneficence for it is not noble to be eager to receive benefits neither is it to be repulsive of a friends advances to their offer of benefits. It therefore appears that friends are needed in all circumstances.