Aristotle’s Philosophy: Friendship, Good Life, Society, Politics, and Justice
Friendship
For Aristotle, friendship is the most important of virtues. It is the union of ethical and dianoetic virtues. Life without friendship is not worth living, even if we were otherwise happy. Friendship is a feeling of harmony that we have towards a person, above and beyond any differences. It’s a feeling of selfless solidarity, not based on pleasure or beauty.
A true friend is someone who calls you when you are experiencing a favorable situation, and whom you call when you are experiencing a disadvantage.
The Good Life
Aristotle identified five ingredients needed to lead a good life:
- Understanding/Intelligence: Contemplative activity. The flame of *eudaimonia* is an ethic that provides guidance for happiness.
- Practical Wisdom: The willingness to apply that understanding to life.
- Good Health: A healthy mind in a healthy body.
- Economic Stability: Some degree of lasting financial security.
- Luck: A degree of good fortune.
Society
Politics, for Aristotle, is about achieving the good and happiness of the public, in coexistence. For centuries, the Greeks were organized into families, forming villages (*kome*). Larger districts (*demos*) were created, and the unit that united these neighborhoods was the city-state (*polis*). Each *polis* shared the same language and culture, but each state had its own political autonomy. Aristotle realized that human beings tend to form partnerships and need to feel a part of society in order to improve.
Aristotle believed we are political animals (*politikom zoom*). We need other people to achieve happiness. The person who does not need other people is either like a god or an idiot.
For Aristotle, the community takes precedence over the individual; the common good is paramount. After the community, the well-being of the individual should be promoted.
He says that while animals have a voice, we have words to express ourselves. We live together, make assessments of what is right or wrong, and put names on things. We weigh and judge, while animals scream in pain and pleasure.
Politics
Aristotle believed that the laws of a state must be sustained and prolonged because frequent changes would create a mess. He argued that laws should be ingrained in the state because habits are hard to change, and customs of the *polis* are more restrictive than regulations. For example, some laws, like gay marriage in Spain, while progressive, are not received equally well by everyone.
Justice
Aristotle described two types of justice:
- Distributive Justice: This must exist between citizens and is proportional to the position held by that person and their importance among citizens.
- Commutative Justice: This pertains to relationships that can be labor-related, commercial, or professional. The important thing is fairness, equal consequences for stealing as for killing.
He considered citizens to be older, enlightened men; others were excluded. He believed that women were imperfect men, and only men could rule and receive an education.
Political Systems
Aristotle tried to find the perfect political system. He believed that rulers should be more concerned with the collective interest, thus being altruistic. He spoke of three models, with their respective degradations:
- Monarchy: The perfect system, where all power resides in one person, but prioritizing the collective interest over personal interest. However, the monarch always ends up corrupting and looking for their own interest, leading to tyranny.
- Democracy: The least bad of the good systems and the best of the bad. Power resides in the people, but the people are not educated or trained, which can cause disorder and lead to anarchy and demagoguery—a political group deceiving the uninstructed people through fallacies to get their votes. It would be desirable if all citizens were instructed.
- Aristocracy: The government of a few, considered the best and most suited to the historical moment, and who must be submitted to a Citizens’ Parliament or Assembly. Its degeneration is oligarchy because those few are concerned about their own interests, hence the need for an assembly.