Discussion Question 1-
Vernon summarizes Aristotle's paradoxical description of soul friendship as the following:
Close friendship requires an individual to possess a greater range of qualities than just a fulsome capacity for reciprocal goodwill. It requires a proper sort of self-regard-the kind that allows the individual to get over themselves; and a wider love of life itself---so that the individual is capable of pursuing interests that are not their own.
In at least 250 words total, please answer each of the following, drawing upon your reading materials and your personal insight. Please be sure that you do not provide names of people or identifying characteristics of the workplace.
• Describe what it might mean to hold oneself in "proper" self-regard and also to "get over oneself"? How is it possible to inhabit these seemingly contradictory roles? What are some examples you can share from your own life?
• Why might it be important to have a "wider love of life itself'" in order to experience a true and meaningful friendship?
Discussion Question 2-
In our reading this week, we learned more about some of the philosophers' perspectives on how to cultivate that fertile ground for engaging in meaningful friendships. Many philosophers seem to agree that friendship is not about being knowledgeable or following a specific prescription for being a true friend. Vernon's summary of Socrates' position entails the following:
Then the individuals have the opportunity not only to learn about the limitations of the beliefs that they hold true but also about the flaws in their character and the vulnerabilities of their temperaments. These are, after all, far deeper sources of delusion than mere rational confusion (p. 255).
In a similar vein, Vernon interprets soul friendship in the light of John Keats "negative capability" as the "ability to live life without certainty, but with an expectant open-heartedness" (p. 254).
In at least 250 words total, please answer each of the following, drawing upon your reading materials and your personal insight:
• In your own understanding of the ethics of friendship, to what extent do you personally value the ability to learn about the limitations of your beliefs, the flaws in your character, and the vulnerabilities in your temperament? Do you consider this an obligation of the friend? What is your own understanding of the "ability to live life without certainty, but with an expectant open-heartedness" in terms of friendship and do you concur that it is the ethical approach to cultivating true friendship? If not, based on what you learned in this course, what is?