Friends and other strangers

People tend to treat friendship as a kind of optional icing on the cake rather than the dough that holds it all together but what if this script doesn’t make us happy?

I’ll be there for you

Friendship can be based on utility, on what measurable gain we derive from the friendship, or it can be based on the pleasure we derive from the friendship. However, perfect friendship is a gift, without exchange

Friends for life

In news that should surprise no-one, scientists have found that peer acceptance in young teenagers, and close friendships in older teenagers, predict low social anxiety and high life satisfaction in young adults.

Philosophical friends

While the media trumpet the importance of romantic love and family relations, great philosophers such as Aristotle and Nietzsche always highlighted the importance of friendship to human lives.

Aristotle on friendship

The Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote extensively on friendship, as “no one would choose to live without friends,” even if they could have everything else in life instead.