2
   

How can you truly tell if you have a friendship of virtue according to Aristotle?

 
 
Reply Fri 15 May, 2026 05:49 pm
I have no real former experience with philosophy and may come across and incredibly uninformed in the following that I am about to write, so feel free to tell me that if it holds true.

I recently watched a very good video essay that delved into the topics of the three types of friendship that you can have (utility, pleasure and virtue/friendship of the good). After a while of reflecting on it and thinking about the people I consider to be my friends, I really just haven’t been able to fully understand how you can know what type of friendship you have.

A friendship of virtue comes from wanting the good of your friend, and wanting to see them flourish (and them wanting the same for you), but for a friendship to not be based on pleasure, it seems to me that you need to almost be completely selfless.

I’ll put it into an example, let’s say my friend wants some advice from me, and I give the best advice I can to benefit them:

- This satisfies my selfless desire for them to succeed and be happy because I truly see the good of their character

- But also satisfies my selfish desire to remain friends with them so that we can share good times together, and could additionally be selfish in the sense that they will appreciate and value me more now (and being accepted and validated is something humans tend to want)

How can it be possible to identify that you have a friendship of virtue when you aren’t fully virtuous?

It seems to me there’s no way to tell that your main motive for being friends for someone is to see them flourish as a person when the exact same motive can so easily be clouded by selfish thoughts.

I feel that even if I had a friendship of virtue, I would never be able to distinguish it from pleasure, because I objectively enjoy the fact that I personally get something out of even the friends I want to see succeed the most.

If you have anything to add to this that I’m missing then please tell me. Thank you.

(Also I understand that philosophy isn’t a subject of objective fact, so if anyone wants to take that angle too then go ahead).
  • Topic Stats
  • Top Replies
  • Link to this Topic
Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 26 • Replies: 1
No top replies

 
hightor
 
  1  
Reply Fri 15 May, 2026 06:29 pm
@HereForOneQuestion,
Those sorts of contradictions are tediously common in moral philosophy. There's always some egocentric payoff . Christians towing the line simply because they want eternal life is a related example. It's all about "me". Don't sweat it. The important thing is that you're even thinking about "friendship of virtue".
0 Replies
 
 

Related Topics

How can we be sure? - Discussion by Raishu-tensho
Proof of nonexistence of free will - Discussion by litewave
Destroy My Belief System, Please! - Discussion by Thomas
Star Wars in Philosophy. - Discussion by Logicus
Existence of Everything. - Discussion by Logicus
Is it better to be feared or loved? - Discussion by Black King
Paradigm shifts - Question by Cyracuz
 
  1. Forums
  2. » How can you truly tell if you have a friendship of virtue according to Aristotle?
Copyright © 2026 MadLab, LLC :: Terms of Service :: Privacy Policy :: Page generated in 0.03 seconds on 05/15/2026 at 08:03:13