Friendship in the Polis

Aristotle's Friendships

Elena Irrera interprets Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics on friendship as having three distinct, but possibly overlapping purposes. In addition to friendships based on love, there are also friendships based on "ethical excellence" and "utility" (p. 7). Friendships based on love can be rooted in a mutual sense of understanding and trust, and are typically rooted in a long history of companionship. Friendships based on ethical excellence are more difficult to explain, but nonetheless easily recognized by most people as a mutual attraction based on similar values and ethics. 'Ethical excellence' friendships contrast with utilitarian friendships, because the former deals with the good of the individual and the latter deals with the good of the polis or political community (Zunjic). However, to understand the meaning of a Aristotelian friendship based on utility, the philosophical foundation upon which Aristotle's concept of polis must be understood.

Aristotle's view of morality was based on the concept of a political community consisting of individuals having a common goal; a striving towards a "supreme good" in the moral sense (Zunjic). In American society, this goal could reasonably assumed to be the fulfillment of individual, familial, social, and financial goals, but Aristotle would argue that these goals could not be achieved unless most, if not all, of society agrees on the same goals. Individual fulfillment and happiness therefore depends on a communal recognition of an overarching or "ultimate good" that everyone is seeking in their own way. In other words, for Americans to achieve happiness and fulfillment they must become organized around the pursuit of the same ultimate goal of individual actualization, otherwise they will struggle in futility.

Aristotle argued that for society to become organized around the pursuit of an ultimate good, law and policies must be established to guide individual behavior (Zunjic). The only means by which this end can be achieved, according to Aristotle, is the science of politics. In essence, Aristotle is stating that political science is the only means by which society, and thus individuals, can pursue and achieve a communally-defined ultimate good. The state is therefore essential to achieving the highest state of moral existence.

This philosophy seems to contrast with American values such as individual achievement; however, if the vast majority of people in American society agree that this goal represents the ultimate good, then according to Aristotle, state institutions, such as financial, legal, education, and defense, should be organized in a manner that fosters the attainment of this ultimate good (Zunjic).

In light of Aristotle's definition of a political community, the only type of friendship that would be considered controversial from a moral and ethical perspective is the one based on utility. While the existence of such friendships is widely recognized to exist throughout society, many would likely argue that they are not inherently 'good' in the moral sense. Irrera draws a hard line between political friendships (utilitarian), which often exhibit many of the traits commonly associated with more traditional friendships, but often lack a long-term association (p. 3-4). From Irrera's perspective, a shared sense of justice acts as a surrogate for love in political friendships, but does not guarantee that such associations contribute to the attainment of an ultimate good.

This common sense of justice, according to Aristotle, is what ties a political community together (Irrera); therefore a political community consists of a population of political friendships. If this concept is examined in the current political climate in the United States, there are many who would argue that it was a common sense of justice concerning the plight of immigrants that helped President Obama to win reelection (O'Brian, 2012). With Hispanic and Latino voters constituting 10% of the electorate and giving Obama a 44% advantage at the polls, the Republican Party is currently doing some soul searching regarding their stance on immigration reform. Hispanic voters, Democrats, left-leaning independents, and moderate Republicans are apparently political friends when it comes to the issue of immigration reform.

If Aristotle were alive today, he might agree with many Americans that immigration reform is a moral goal that a significant portion of the community can agree on; however, it seems unlikely that he would consider this the 'ultimate good' that all citizens desire to achieve. Instead, he might argue that immigration reform is merely one of many means by which the ultimate good can be pursued. The state policy of excluding non-citizens from the political community would probably be seen by Aristotle as antithetical to the pursuit of the ultimate good. Such a view would be consistent with Ancient Greek Society's view that exile was the worst punishment that could be visited upon a Greek citizen.