Book VIII Summary and Analysis

Aristotle begins a lengthy discussion of friendship that will take up the next two major sections of the work. He notes that friendship seems to be a naturally desirable thing among humans as well as among other animals of the same species. Bonds of friendship seem to be holding communities together and are linked closely with justice. While all seem to agree that friendship is a good thing, there are some points about it that people disagree on, he states. Some believe that people who are similar are likely to become friends. Others note that people who are too similar are often quarreling with one another. Some think that friendship is a higher force that also applies to other natural phenomena. Aristotle puts aside the questions of friendship as a natural force as it does not apply to human...