Friendship as a Moral Virtue: A Philosophical Exploration

Abstract

Friendship is a relational, interpersonal, and loveable bond between two individuals; and the philosophers admit it as a moral virtue. The aim of the manuscript was to draw an attention to the philosophical thinking of friendship in context of moral virtues. Aristotle states that justice seems to be the highest kind of moral virtue; friendship transcends justice. Friendship is relational, so the concept of ‘other’ has a significant role. In this context, Aristotelian notions of shared values in human nature is captured my interest. According to Gadamer, Friendship has a trans-political nature which has been traced in the paper by exposing the hermeneutic of solidarity. There is also discussing about the moral friendship after Kant in the scenario of moral virtue. Here, the goal of my writing to assess the philosophical value of friendship in contemporary society and try to evaluate the urge of friendship especially the virtue friendship in this postmodern, self-oriented society.