On Aristotle's Notion of Friendship

Seen as a sort of excellence or virtue (or at least involving virtue) , friendship is analyzed more than any other topic in the Nicomachean Ethics. Thought of as one of the most indispensable aspects of human life, Aristotle examines friendship from a wealth of angles to show why friendship is both important and essential to a good life. Aristotle notes that to first understand friendship, we must first learn of the different medians between which …

…are morally good. This in turn also reassures the fact that friendship is of great importance to human life as it is essential for happiness, for it encompasses many good aspects (or characteristics) which cannot be found elsewhere. And since a good man will always pursue what is virtuous and good, it is concluded that friendship is one of these things. Hence, any good man will pursue the necessity of friendship to a given extent.