Topic > Friendships according to Aristotle And according to Aristotle...

Aristotle's philosophical theory on a person's happiness includes friendship. For a person to achieve maximum happiness and well-being, it is necessary to have friendships. He states that even people who have wealth and power seek friends, “no one will choose to live without friends even if he had all other possessions” (Aristotle 258). Even friendship, according to Aristotle, is the bond that holds communities together and has a greater importance than justice, since friendship is the primary object. They are three different types of friendship where everyone shares the same amount of quality and type of affection, however, only one is lasting. The three types of friendships he describes are, ground of utility, friendships. These friendships are usually short-lived as their attitudes and feelings change rapidly. The perfect kind of friendship is based on goodness, according to Aristotle. “Only the friendship of those who are good and similar in their goodness is perfect” (Aristotle 263). In this type of friendship it is based on the similarities between the parties. They strive to do good for each other and bring pleasure to each other. It is the longest and purest friendship of the three. “Those who desire the good of their friends for the friend's sake are truly friends because each loves the other for what he is and not for any accidental quality” (Aristotle 263). According to Aristotle it is the rarest type of friendship, because a person must be able to spend the time and intimacy necessary to establish it, but doing so makes them vulnerable in which not many want to do. . You also need to demonstrate that they are worthy of love and trust. Aristotle concludes that establishing such friendship will help a person achieve ultimate happiness and Mill states that it is an essential entity for a person to achieve ultimate happiness. However, the question of when the government should have the right to limit a person's freedom is one that has continued to be an issue over time. Mill explains that it is not only the government that limits a person's freedom, but it is also society that attempts to regulate it. It defines society as a majority attempting to control a minority because of their beliefs based on their own perspectives. Societies that attempt to control others for sharing their same beliefs are defined by Mill as social tyranny. “Social tyranny is more formidable than many types of political oppression,” (Mill 9), the reason is that there is no punishment for social tyranny, so it leaves fewer escape routes and results in the enslavement of the soul. Protection from a tyrannical society that attempts to impose the practices of one's ideas is essential for one to have the ability to gain the independence to put their beliefs into practice. Mill firmly believes that a person should have the freedom to pursue his own good in his own way as long as he does not harm or force others to obtain his own good. When a person threatens the safety of others and begins to act upon them for his own benefit, then it is necessary for the government to intervene to limit that person's freedom..