Aristotle and political friendship

Description

An event organised by the Illuminating Friendship research network.

Speaker

James Warren (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

Aristotle follows Plato’s lead in thinking that establishing the correct attitudes of citizens towards one another and towards the arrangement of the polis is essential for maintaining political unity. He insists that there should be a genuine community (koinōnia) of people and that those people should be engaged in ‘living together’ (to suzēn): engaging in shared activities as part of the good life. He further claims that the presence of such shared activities is the result of friendship of a certain kind: ‘political’ or ‘civic’ friendship (philia politikē). I shed some light on what Aristotle has in mind and ask whether it plausible to say that it is a kind of friendship.

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