Essay About Aristotle Values Friendship And Homeless Person

Nicomachean Ethics
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Nicomachean Ethics
Although Aristotle values friendship, justice and
contemplation, friendship and justice are virtues essential for human
happiness because contemplation for a human being can be too much to
handle.
In order for any human being to be happy they must surround
themselves with friends and have many friendships. Aristotle considers
a friend to be “someone who wishes for and does good things, or things
that seem good, for the sake of the other person, or who wants the
friend to be and to live, for the friends own sake” (pg. 167; 1166a 1-
10). Agreeing with Aristotle, friends are people who wish for each
others good. Friends are people who are loyal, trustworthy, honest and
are willing to do anything for the sake of the other person. Some of
these qualities that a friend posses are based on friendships that
last. A friendship consists of many other qualities such as the
ability to want for others what you want for yourself, to always wish
your friends good fortune, and to always be at your friends side in
times of need. Aristotle goes on to say that some consider a friend to
be “someone with whom one spends time and who prefers the same things,
or someone who shares in pain and enjoyment with a friend” (pg. 167;
166a 1-10). This statement is absolutely true because one of things
that makes you friends with someone else are the same interests that
both of you have. Things that two people like or have in common brings
them closer together; therefore the friendship is much stronger. Also,
two people with the same interest will be able to communicate better
with each other and will understand the other person more fully than
someone else who does not share the same interest. One thing that
makes a really good friendship between two people is where you can
always count on the other person. In pain and in joy, a friend is
someone who will always be at your side and this will strengthen your
friendship. If a human being had no friends or friendship they would
never ever be truly happy because they would spend their lives being
alone and lonely. Friendship is an essential virtue for human
happiness because without friendship their would be no love, care, or
joy. Spending time with people who you love and care about brings
happiness to people and knowing that someone will always be there for
you no matter what happens on earth is a great feeling that people
want to have. No person can ever be happy if they do not have
friendship in their lives.
Another essential virtue for human beings to be happy is
justice because without justice life on earth would not be fair and
many people will not seek closure in certain situations. Justice is
something that everyone looks for whether it concerns some ones
actions or the law. It is also something that is inside every ones
soul that makes you already know what is just and unjust. Aristotle
states, “everyone intends justice to mean the sort of active condition
of the soul out of which people are inclined to perform just actions
and out of which they act justly and want what is just, and in the
same way everyone speaks of injustice as the active condition out of
which people act unjustly and want what is unjust” (pg. 79; 1129a 1-
12). Agreeing with Aristotle, people want what is just in their lives.
One example of what is just is if two young men who buy a pizza see a
homeless person and decide to share it with that homeless person.
Something inside them knows that this would be the just thing to do
considering the homeless person is starving. Let us say that a man
raped and killed 3 women. The families of the victims have the right
to want justice and see it carried out by the law. According to
Aristotle, “since the law-breaker is unjust and the law-abiding person
is just, it is clear that everything lawful is in some way just” (pg.
80; 1129b 10-20). For example, lets say two women both the same age
and status are working in a bakery. If one of the woman gets a salary
slightly higher than the other because of her skin color, then this is
unjust. Justice is what pays these two women the same salaries. There
are also times where people want things that are unjust. Many people
know