Introduction
Friendship is a conception that has always got different ideologies from people. People tend to have a diverse perceptions about the issue of friendship. From a general perspective, friendship can be viewed as a relationship based on intimacy. However, the intimacy within friendship normally varies as some people may have a closer relationship while others may not have close intimacy (Crisp 74). A person may have several friends but the relationship with each one of them will always differ in terms of intimacy. In this case, some friends are more important when compared to others. An important friendship is built on genuine grounds and will always last for a very long period.
Such friendship is very useful because the relationship is based on genuine and mutual assistance. Friends of this kind will usually be there for one another and give each other the necessary support. No matter what the problem may be, genuine friends will normally give a helping hand to each other. On the other hand, some friendships will never last any longer due to insincerity. Thus some friends are never genuine and so the best thing to do with them is to terminate the relationship (Crisp 87).
It would therefore be needless to have a friend who would not be of good help to a person. Having discussed friendship in general, the objective of this paper is to narrow down and address classical friendship. To achieve this, the paper will also discuss classical friendship according to authors such as Aristotle, Boethius, and Dante among others.
Types Friendship
Ideally, developing a friendship with someone is very essential in life. Determining a genuine friend may however be difficult to tell especially at the beginning of the relationship. This is because some friends will always pretend to be good to achieve a particular mission. They can even go beyond the ordinary for them to win someone’s friendship. For instance, a person can take advantage of a particular friendship to get a job, money, or any other mission.
Such friendship is never genuine and is bound to collapse at any given time. Establishing real friendship is whereby friends can share good time without conflicts; help one another in times of need and who are loyal to each other. Friends should also appreciate, correct, and encourage one another when the need arises. Typically, there are different kinds of friendship which consist of self-actualized friendship, social friendship, emotional friendship, professional friendship, and classical friendship.
Self-actualized friendship
Self-actualized friendship is whereby friends are free to converse together on general issues. This type of friend will usually give out their views and listen to what others say without criticizing them. Such friends are so amazing and have good motives when they are building a friendship with others. In whatever conversation they have, these friends are normally patient to listen and appreciate other people’s views. Having company with a self-actualized friend is a wonderful experience because they are good advisors and motivators (Outler18). Thus, they help their friends at all times and give advice and encouragement when the need arises.
Self-actualized friends are usually positive and would not hesitate to correct their associates. Unfortunately, it is not easy to find self-actualized friends. They are rare to find because most people do not have their characteristics. Not everyone can be willing to assist their friends and care for them. Categorically, people have diverse personalities and so it may be impossible for others to commit themselves to self-actualized relationships. Due to its nature, self-actualized friendship is bound to last for a very long period. It may even take a life period without breaking up.
Social friendship
Moving on to social friendship, people in this category often build their relationships in social places like clubs and recreational centers. Entirely, social friendship is all about social issues that enhance a particular relationship (Alighieri 12). In this case, such friends will usually meet in public places and the company of other individuals. This is because their friendship is less formal without any office work. Noticeably, social friendship is more common in urban places than in rural places where there are few social networks. With urban setups, it is much easier to maintain a social friendship because there are numerous meeting places than in rural areas. During their meetings, social friends will usually engage themselves in different kinds of activities such as sports, dancing, and singing.
Emotional friendship
Those in emotional friendship are somehow unique because their relationship is based on feelings for each other. Because of this, emotional friends are more intimate than any other kind of friendship (Cicero 75). No matter what happens, emotional friends will often be there for one another as they share their problems. Mainly, this kind of friendship is found among those who are in courtship, marriage, or a family relationship like a mother and daughter (Outler 54).
Emotional friendship can sometimes start in childhood and continue through adulthood. An example is Dante and his childhood girlfriend. Dante, who is a literature author, established an emotional relationship with his girlfriend was known as Beatrice. Both of them continued with their emotional friendship even though Dante had a wife. As a married man, Dante did not stop loving Beatrice as he would write her several love poems. Symbolically, their relationship was grounded on a medieval concept or rather courtly love.
Professional friendship
On the other hand, professional friendship involves people who are within a given professional network. Quite often, professional friendship is established by people who work together or share some professionalism. Unlike social friendship, a professional relationship is based on formal issues (Boethius 23). The relationship may involve employers and employees or business associates who have a common interest. Professional friends can always meet in their offices, board rooms, or on business premises. Informal subjects must never be entailed in professional friendship because it may lead to other forms of friendship. Having discussed some friendship, the proceeding paragraphs will address classical friendship in a broader length.
Classical Friendship
According to Aristotle, classical friendship can be viewed and distinguished in three forms. Aristotle differentiates genuine friendship from other relationships based on mutual utility and pleasure (Crisp 101). Utility friendship is usually established based on a core reason which strengthens the relationship. Thus, people get into utility friendships for them to achieve a specific goal. Aristotle further says that utility friendship is most common among the old and those in the middle ages (Crisp 31).
In their relationship, utility friends may never spend time together. What brings them together is normally a particular objective. The relationship can break up once a goal is already achieved. In the classical view of friendship, some people develop relationships for them to get some pleasures. Friendship based on pleasure is mostly found among young people who like changing their relationships. Their interest in a relationship can only last for a very short time or a long time depending on the pleasure. Young people like having fun and so they can develop a friendship with many individuals. For example, they may have friends whom they play with, party with, dance with, and play with (Cicero 55).
In so doing such friends will always have fun together as long as it takes. Unfortunately, young people are often swayed by their emotional feeling. Without noticing, young people end up into friendship that causes them a lot of problems. According to Boethius, true friendship should be objective and not subjective (Boethius 98). Friends ought to be there for one another both in good times and bad times. In his relationship with lady philosophy, Boethius realized how privileged he was in that friendship. During the time of Boethius’s imprisonment, lady philosophy was dedicated to supporting her friend.
She would write encouraging letters and poems to Boethius as a genuine friend. Lady philosophy did not abandon Boethius because he was in prison. Instead, she offered her support to Boethius who was frustrated in prison. Through her encouragement and motivation, Boethius managed to overcome his frustrations (Boethius 14). Even after his release, their friendship continues as it was built on genuine grounds. Ideally, friends should support each other even in very tough times.
Normally, friends would abandon their partners when a problem arises. Friends must not be together in happy times only but also in a difficult times. Abandoning a friend in times of trouble is a sign of insincerity within the friendship. When friends are in problems, it is very important to assist each other by giving financial support, psychological support, and any other assistance. A good example is Boethius’s girlfriend who was caring to her friend as he gave him moral support.
Conclusion
Fundamentally, friendship ought to be established on a genuine basis and not for pleasure as some individuals do. Classical friendship should entail affection and commitment for one another. As Aristotle says, true friendship is one that never ceases because a friend is in trouble (Outler 44). Instead, it continues however bad or tough a situation may be. At one point in life, everyone gets into problems and may not be able to sort out the problem without help from friends.
Much as a friend is assisted, he/she should also be ready to help in case their partners are in trouble. Considering the relationship between Boethius and his girlfriend, it is a clear indication that it was a true friendship. This is because the lady philosopher gave her full support to Boethius who was in prison. She wrote to her friend encouraging very useful poems.
Works Cited
Alighieri, Dante. Dante’s II Convivial/the Banquet (Garland Library of Medieval Literature). NY: Taylor & Francis. 1991.
Boethius, Barret. Consolation of philosophy. UK: Bryn Mawr College. 2001.
Cicero S. Cicero: On Old Age On friendship on division. 1990.
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Crisp, Roger. Nicomachean Ethics. London: Cambridge University Press. 2000.
Outler A. Austine: Confessions. Texas: Southern Methodist University. 1994.