Discuss the following in word limit if 250 words each:
We learn about the unhealthy and shallow depiction of "soul friendships" in mainstream films and literature:
"Type soulfriends, or even worse "soulmate" into an internet search engine and some of the most syrupy aphorisms on friendship will be returned for your edification... the trouble with this sentimental haze and commodification is that it cheapens an idea of enormous human value: the spirituality of friendship is not something that can simply be ceded to the market" (p. 222).
Identifying characteristics of the workplace.
• What is your own perception of how the media fosters unhealthy models of friendship through film and television? Please provide an example from either a book or a film. What is our ethical responsibility in terms of challenging and questioning these mainstream notions of friendship?
We learned about the rarity of what Aristotle calls "soul friendship" or what Emerson calls "divine" friendship. Most philosophers concur that cultivating such a friendship requires an openness to it, an awareness that it will not likely occur, and a stringent honesty and affection.
• If "soul friendships" represent our highest attainment of friendship and require great honesty and pure love, what might be our ethical obligation to attempt to nurture such friendships?
• Analyze, drawing upon examples from your own life, whether such friendships are possible and explain some of the ethical considerations that accompany them.