Ideal Friendships

Lets review a few terms before going forward. When we talk about virtue it means the best application for that particular action and passion. The best means what brings the most happiness to us. In the discussion of ethics we don't delve into eternal consequences since those things are not observable. We do see how certain habits can make people miserable and we call them vices. An act doesn't make a person bad but in a relationship, certain ones can be hard for others to overcome, depending on the people involved and the severity. The perception of the commonality of goodness can be perceived as unequal with one bad and the other good. But it all gets down to how hard we are on ourselves and we cannot afford to let other peoples perceptions bring us down. Those who are hard on themselves have a harder time keeping friends since friends are an extension of ourselves, and friends are essential to happiness.

Ethics are more of a measuring tool. When we talk about a good person in this light, it is an ideal that everyone shares. None of us meet these standards of perfection and we all have areas that we are working on. Our internal moral codes have similarities among people that we can point out. Those who are honest with themselves will pay attention to it and make the adjustments needed to get to a place of happiness. "Contentment" is a vague word to use since every thing we do is linked to discontentment. Ethics point us to improvements rather than self-destructive habits for relief. The goals just need to be achievable so our soul doesn't get into futility and we lose hope. A person of good character won't force things but is patient. A soul is happy when it can forgo present pleasure while having confidence that the future holds great things.

We will go into detail concerning our friendship with ourselves and others. I gave some of the conclusions first to keep it interesting. Aristotle likens the characteristics with the ideal friendship with that of a mother and her children. He emphasizes that if we aren't friends with ourselves, it is hard to make friends.
 Here are the characteristics a person has ideally toward a friend;
 
   1. He does what is good for his friend
   2. He likes the friend for who he is. (celebrates his existence)
   3. Others see that he enjoys being with the friend
   4. They share similar tastes
   5. He rejoices and grieves with his friend.

So these are the characteristics we will explore...