That is at least part of the reason he has so much to say about it.
When we consider that most of the Nicomachean Ethics concerns the development of virtue in an individual, it becomes plausible to think of Aristotle’s discussion of philia as his account of interpersonal relations as a whole. Philia includes a large variety of human relationships, many of which (like the relations between business associates or fellow citizens) have nothing to do with friendship as we understand it. And although recent philosophy has returned to the topic, mostly in order to show (unsuccessfully in my opinion) that the conflict is only apparent, not even authors like Montaigne or Nietzsche, whose sympathy for morality is limited, seem to have given friendship detailed attention.Ĭould it be that there is, in fact, little to say about friendship? That seems to be belied by the practice of the ancient philosophers, for whom ethics, the effort to live as well as it is possible for a human being to do, included much more then obedience to impartial rules.Īristotle devoted to philia fully one fifth of the Nicomachean Ethics - more than to any other issue while Cicero composed a long and famous dialogue on amicitia. Among secular thinkers, that conflict creates a deep tension in those who take friendship seriously, as Adam Smith did, or renders friendship irrelevant to those who, like Kant, give absolute precedence to impartiality. That is partly due to the conflict between the impartiality of morality and the selectivity that seems essential to friendship - a conflict raised by Augustine’s devaluation of friendship in comparison to the love of God and a major issue for Christian thinkers since then. However great and important its role in life, friendship has played at best a minor and accidental role in modern philosophical thought.
#ALEXANDROS NEHAMAS SERIES#
They are, among others, the values of art, country and - the subject of this series of lectures - friendship. They direct us to treat different individuals differently, exactly because of their individual differences. Badges of our particularities, these values favour imposing limits on our solicitude. Emblems of our commonalities, they urge us to expand our range of concern. That has made the aspirations of modern moral philosophy impartial and universal. The basis of moral engagement in modernity has been the realization that human beings are importantly similar to one another its aim is to act toward others in ways these similarities support and justify. He is Edmund N Carpenter II Class of 1943 Professor in Humanities, Professor of Philosophy, and Professor of Comparative Literature at Princeton University. Venue: Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh BiographyĪlexander Nehamas will deliver a series of Gifford Lectures in the University of Edinburgh in 2007 - 2008. Lecture Series Theme: Because it was he, Because it was I: Friendship and its Place in Life.ĭates: 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20 March 2008, 5.30pm
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