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Episode 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness

October 3, 2016 by Mark Linsenmayer 3 Comments

http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.libsyn.com/partiallyexaminedlife/PEL_ep_148_8-30-16.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00:27 — 110.3MB)

On the final books 8–10 of Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics.

What does friendship have to do with ethics? Aristotle thinks that friends are necessary for the good life (i.e., eudaimonia or happiness, which is the goal of ethics), and that the only true friends, as opposed to those who merely entertain us or are useful to us, are virtuous people. They're the only ones who won't outlive their usefulness, whom you can really count on.

On the other hand, the number one virtue (according to our last episode on this book) is reason, and the good life is the contemplative one, which doesn't sound all that social, so how do reason and friendship connect?

Mark, Wes, and Dylan are joined by PEL blogger Ana Sandoiu to try to figure out why we all love each other (but just as friends!): is it because of our uniqueness, or is it because of some generic characteristic like virtue, as Aristotle seems to be saying?

Ana's translation of the book is this one by Robert Bartlett and Susan Collins.

End song: "A Few Gone Down" from The MayTricks' Happy Songs Will Bring You Down (1994). Download the whole album for free.

Aristotle picture by Sterling Bartlett.

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Filed Under: Podcast Episodes Tagged With: Aristotle, eudaimonia, friendship, philosophy podcast, virtue ethics

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  1. Episode 148: Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness (Part Two) | The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast | A Philosophy Podcast and Blog says:
    October 10, 2016 at 9:08 am

    […] to part 1 first or get the ad-free Citizen Edition.Please support […]

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  2. The Science and Philosophy of Happiness: A Collection of Videos, Articles, and Podcasts - Philosophy For Beginners says:
    August 11, 2018 at 11:49 pm

    […] Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness – The Partially Examined Life [54:42] […]

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  3. The Philosophy of Aristotle: A Collection of Online Resources and Key Quotes – The Daily Idea says:
    September 9, 2019 at 4:05 am

    […] Aristotle on Friendship and Happiness […]

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