The Thought of Friendship - Article Example

On Friendship The thought of friendship has been an ideal contemplated about since humanity started to form a more social environment. Friendship has various dimensions and levels as one individual forms that apparent relationship with another human being. Having a bond of friendship is considered one of the most wonderful experiences and gifts in any lifetime. It is said that true and authentic friendship is more precious and rarer than the finest gold in this world. What makes friendship increase in value is the amount of standards that is placed upon it. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s concept of friendship is closely related to his point of view in life. Emerson was part of the Transcendentalist movement that was going on during the mid nineteenth century. Transcendentalism was a philosophical movement that believed that principles should not be based from sensuous experiences, but from the inner mentality and spirituality of the human person. This philosophical thinking was influenced strongly by the German Idealism of Immanuel Kant and Oriental philosophy, which greatly made an impression on Emerson. One particular trait in Emerson’s idea of friendship is the innate goodness of the human spirit in people. Friendship is a positive flowering of the human spirit shared between an individual to another. As Emerson (1841) wrote in his essay on friendship: The effect of the indulgence of this human affection is a certain cordial exhilaration. In poetry, and in common speech, the emotions of benevolence and complacency which are felt towards others are likened to the material effects of fire; so swift, or much more swift, more active, more cheering, are these fine inward irradiations. From the highest degree of passionate love, to the lowest degree of good-will, they make the sweetness of life. The way Emerson expresses his concept of friendship involves a powerful flow of positive feelings that go beyond the physical understanding of things. This high standard of idealism is the defining mark of friendship, in light of Emerson’s perspective. However, this point of view is considered highly idealistic. Placing the definition of friendship solely on Emerson’s transcendental idea is lofty at best. The transcendental view of friendship is strongly sentimental with little light on the practical. The poetic and highly romanticized view in Emerson’s essay on friendship paints a beautiful description on how friendship is, speaking on its beauty alone, and less of the useful purpose. This could be in comparison and contrast to other perspectives with regard to the nature of friendship. The Greek philosopher Aristotle claimed that friendship is the greatest good for a human being. For Aristotle, there are many reasons why people are engaged in friendship. For instance, a person might like another, either due to the nobility of character, the pleasantries such person brings, or due to the practical usefulness of an individual. For Aristotle these are the three reasons for friendship to exist. When an individual recognizes that another person is someone of good nature, the former tries to spend time with the latter. As a result, they develop real friendship. As Aristotle stated in his Nicomachean Ethics: That the states we have named are culpable is plain enough, and that the middle state is laudable- that in virtue of which a man will put up with, and will resent, the right things and in the right way; but no name has been assigned to it, though it most resembles friendship. For the man who corresponds to this middle state is very much what, with affection added, we call a good friend. But the state in question differs from friendship in that it implies no passion or affection for ones associates; since it is not by reason of loving or hating that such a man takes everything in the right way, but by being a man of a certain kind. For he will behave so alike towards those he knows and those he does not know, towards intimates and those who are not so, except that in each of these cases he will behave as is befitting; for it is not proper to have the same care for intimates and for strangers, nor again is it the same conditions that make it right to give pain to them. For Aristotle, the idea of friendship is an essential aid in developing ourselves for a higher life of happiness and morality. Friendship is a virtue that serves people throughout life in many different occasions. Although, it should be said that such matters are to be consequent not from the worldly ways of friendships based on pure convenience or pleasure but only from friendships that are based on virtue. A real, authentic or true friend could essentially be viewed as a second self, and friendship’s true moral value of lies in the idea that a friend represents a mirror of the self towards noble actions, and focuses awareness and positive reception of life. The idea of friendship for Aristotle is related to his understanding of human nature and his philosophical teachings of the golden mean. Aristotle believes that the human being is a social animal and will therefore associate with other beings of the same kind. This association of one human being to another would lead to the development of friendship. The golden mean is a principle formulated by Aristotle that holds goodness as the balance between excess and deficiency. Aristotle would apply these principles on friendship, holding to the idea that friends are individuals who want and need each other for both happiness and personal development. This is a more balanced view compared to Emerson’s ideal of friendship. Another point of view to be taken in comparison is the Christian view of friendship and fidelity. The Christian perspective of friendship takes into consideration the value of love between two individuals. Love is held by Christian belief as the sole goodness in appreciation of one person to another. As Meilaender (1981) stated in his article: Friendships, if there are to be any at all, must be formed before we can have any certain knowledge that the other person is truly lovable, one suited for our friendship. This means that we may commit ourselves to persons for whom our regard may fade. Yet, in thus committing ourselves to another person, we create in that friend a set of expectations, needs, and loyalties which cannot simply be set aside without pain and grief. Again we see that the bond of friendship seems to call for a permanence which it cannot itself provide. Try to avoid making mistakes in friendship, and we will have no friends at all. Acquire the necessary experience which only friendship and some “mistaken judgments” can provide, and in so doing, we make commitments and establish expectations which call for fidelity. The Christian point of view on friendship is similar to Emerson’s ideal. However, the Christian perspective does not give a blind eye to the shortcomings of others, nor do they paint a picture perfect image of the goodness in people. The Christian view of friendship is mindful about this, but still believes that friendship can still thrive despite human failings. Confucianism also shares a familiar trait to Emerson’s concept of friendship, but does not place the idea solely on transcendence. As Hall and Ames (1994) pointed out: Friendship, for Confucius, is grounded in jen, and is, at the same time, the road to religiousness. Confucius, rather than appealing to transcendent beings or principles as the ultimate reference for spiritual growth, describes the process of personal cultivation in terms of “starting from what is most basic and immediate, and penetrating through to what is most elevated.” Confucian thoughts on friendship revolve around the virtue of jen, which means benevolence. Benevolence allows an individual to share goodwill to others despite being mindful of their shortcomings. The Confucian virtue of jen means that real friendship can be valued regardless of differences between an individual and another. This can be seen in certain moments wherein a person’s character development is shown. Confucian ethical philosophy has always been particularly focused on the interpersonal relationship dynamics of the individual with the different levels of social interaction. Virtue is a central tenet that is espoused and developed when it comes to this social dynamic. Despite the seemingly spiritual tone of Confucianism, the idea of transcendence is different from Emerson’s perspective in the sense that Confucianism’s idea of friendship involves the cultivation of both the spirit and reality within the relationship. Confucianism’s cultivation of friendship is all about the development of virtue between individuals, regardless of differences. Confucius gives much emphasis to the essential significance of meticulous awareness to li (propriety) as a kind of design for good etiquette and taste, principles, and social order. In addition, it is moral in the sense that fine conduct demonstrates concern for other people and a bearing of an individual’s place. Lastly, it is social in the manner which rituals are appropriately acted upon following the ideal hierarchies of relationships, whether the relationship is between sovereign and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, or even a friend with another friend. Confucius would conclude that the paramount example of harmonious order would be xiao (piety), in which the essential trait would be jing (respect). If people and their actions are in their proper places and follow propriety, the results would lead to relationships that are serene, procedures are unproblematic, and noble deeds are wanted and completed willingly. This is how friendship is understood in the Confucian perspective. Indian philosophy has also developed its own concept of friendship. Many of India’s classical literature works, such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, have defined friendship as goodness of the human spirit. As Parekh (1994) observed: For Indian thinkers, those enjoying the closest possible friendship share a common soul or self and “feel as one... Friends reflect and manifest each other’s self, spirit, life-breath, or soul (prana) such that each discovers himself in the other. Friendship is a uniquely free relationship created voluntarily by those involved, and reveals to them and to the world at large the kinds of persons they are. In the Indian conception of friendship, sauhrda or good-heartedness is associated with the three related ideas of ananda (“delight”), sahaya (“help”), and abhaya (“fearlessness”). Friends are dear (priya) to each other and give each other ananda (“pleasure,” “joy,” or “delight”). The Hindu philosophical notion of friendship is similar to the Aristotelian concept in terms of virtues. It is also similar with the Confucian concept when it comes to the association of friendship with human spirituality. It should be noted that much of Emerson’s ideas were influenced by Indian philosophy, and that the transcendental nature of friendship can find its roots from Hindu epic literature. Emerson’s ideal of friendship is difficult to apply toward Aristotelian and Confucian concepts since the two latter concepts have a more balanced perspective of friendship, specifically between the real and transcendental. Although, Emerson’s point of view can be found closer in the lines of Christian and Hindu understanding of friendship since there is a stronger inclination to the human spirit and the spiritual transcendence found in such a relationship. References Aristotle. “Friendship.” Nichomachean Ethics, Book VIII. Trans. W. D. Ross. Online Text. Retrieved from: http://philosophy.eserver.org/aristotle/nicomachean-ethics.txt. Emerson, Ralph Waldo. “Friendship.” Essays 1841. Online text: RWE.org—The Complete Works of Ralph  Waldo Emerson. (Established: December 8, 1997-XML redesign, February 5, 2005). Retrieved from: http://www.rwe.org.  Meilaender, Gilbert. “Friendship and Fidelity.” Friendship: A Study in Theological Ethics, Chapter 3. Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1981. Hall, David L. and Roger T. Ames. “Confucian Friendship.” The Changing Face of Friendship. Ed. Leroy S.  Rouner. Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1994. Parekh, Bhikhu. “An Indian View of Friendship.” The Changing Face of Friendship. Ed. Leroy S. Rouner.  Notre Dame: Notre Dame UP, 1994. Read More