Philosophy and Friendship

Sandra Lynch

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2005

Philosophy and Friendship

Sandra Lynch

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474470360

Overview
Contents

About this book

A philosophical exploration of the meaning and significance of friendship.

This book explains the persistence of friendship today in the light of the history of philosophical approaches to the subject. It considers ideals of intimacy and fusion in the context of claims that such ideals are unrealistic and even dangerous. Cicero's scepticism about friendship in the public realm is compared with the Aristotelian view of friendship as a genuine political bond, and with Derrida's development of that view via an exploration of Aristotle's alleged and provocative announcement 'O my friends, there is no friend'. Tensions between love and respect, identity and difference, a focus on the self and a focus on the other are closely examined.

From Aristotle to contemporary theorists, the book explores the conditions that enable the development of self-understanding in friendship, the delicate and unstable pairing of concepts like inclination and duty and distinctions between self-love, self esteem and self-concern in relations between friends.

Key Features

Recognition of the variety of the term 'friend' in the history of philosophy
The treatment of the tension between identity and difference in relations between friends
Discussion of the contribution of friendship to self-understanding.

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Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
PART I. Identity and Difference in Philosophical Conceptions of Friendship
1. Approaching the Kaleidoscope of Friendship Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
2. The Friend as Another Self Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
3. The Other Self as Friend Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
PART II. Friendship as an Ethical Relationship
4. Re-imagining the Possibility of Friendship Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
PART III. The Relationship between Friendship and Self-Understanding
5. Seeing Oneself as Friend Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
6. Friendship in Contemporary Life Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	203

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 224
Keywords: Philosophy

eBook

Published: July 18, 2005
ISBN: 9781474470360