Aristotle Friendship Blog

Utility Friendship- Aristotle describes the Utility Friendship as one where the people are only acquainted because they need something from each other. Once this need is met the friendship deteriorates because there is nothing holding it together except the need.

An example of a utility friendship would be Terrell Owens' relationships with his quarterbacks. T.O. was one of the best wide receivers of his time but like most receivers of his time he was very self centered. Owens wanted the ball on every single play whether he was actually open or not. He depended on his quarterbacks to get him the ball and because he was so good his quarterbacks needed to get him the ball thus a utility friendship was born. As long as T.O. was getting the ball everything was awesome but as soon as he wasn't things blew up. He fought with Jeff Garcia in San Francisco and got released then he fought with Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia and got released from there. Owens and his quarterbacks are the perfect example of a utility friendship.

                                                      T.O. fighting with Donovan McNabb


Pleasantness Friendship- Very similar to the utility friendship friendships for pleasure do not have very strong long term bonds. But where they differ from the utility friendship is that they are not for a need they are simply for pleasure and what is making the person happiest at the time. Once this person no longer finds this common interest pleasurable the friendship will again most likely dissolve. An example of this in my life would be the Lowell High Fan Section that I am very rabidly apart. Most  of the people other than a select few I have no contact with outside the student section but in the fan section I am friendly with everyone. Right now in my senior year the student section is insanely important and means a lot to me but as soon as I graduate I will no longer have any connection with the student section because I will not be attending Lowell High. The student section is a great example because right now it is a huge deal but once I graduate it will not be at all.


  Lowell High vs Central Catholic

         
Perfect Friendship- Aristotle describes the perfect friendship as one that is not fleeting and is very strong. It is the complete opposite of  utility. The people in the perfect friendship want what's best for each other and have nothing to do with utility. The people must have similar values or they'd have nothing to base their friendship off of. Obviously there is pleasure in the relationship or it wouldn't be a friendship at all but it is totally not for utility.

A great example of a perfect friendship is Will and Chuckie from Good Will Hunting. Chuckie and Will are the best of friends and do everything together. From working together at a construction sites to drinking together at a Harvard bar to fighting Wills kindergarten bully they are inseparable. But they do deep down just want the best for each other. This is clear when Chuckie tells Will that if he doesn't use his gift of genius to get out of Boston that he'd kill him. This really exemplifies Aristotle's main points of a true friendship because they were never using each for anything and deep down they really did just want the best for each other.



Ben Affleck as Chuckie Sullivan and Matt Damon as Will Hunting