The name of Aristotle it circulates again every time what friendship reveals is discussed. Given this, there is a phrase of his that became popular on social networks: «Don’t trust someone who doesn’t have friends.»
The phrase is attributed to Aristotle and points to those who do not have strong ties. However, it marks a clear difference between them and those who enjoy solitude and choose it momentarily.
The difference with people who enjoy solitude appears when there are no real ties to return to.
Why Aristotle put friendship at the center of life
In that sense, Aristotle does not treat friendship as a sentimental topic. It places it as part of community life and connects it with happiness, understood as a way of living well over time.
Furthermore, that idea has gained strength again in recent times through another path. Different studies on adult health highlighted that close ties function as support and that unwanted loneliness is associated with worse well-being outcomes.
The phrase is usually repeated like this: “Don’t trust someone who doesn’t have friends, because it’s impossible for someone who doesn’t have friends to be happy.” It is a line that remains valid despite the passing of the years, and that is passed from generation to generation.
For example, in the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle He maintains that without friends no one would choose to live, even if they had wealth. Given this, he highlights the importance of maintaining ties and being able to rebuild them with those who have not ended the bond well.
Furthermore, Aristotle uses addictiona broader term that includes family and close ties. Therefore, when he talks about friendship, he also talks about community and network.
Not all friendships are worth the same: usefulness, pleasure and virtue
To Aristotlethe amistad It differs in utility, pleasure and virtue. According to the philosopher, friendship for utility is sustained as long as it is convenient. This may be the bond of work or the shared project: when interest ends, it usually slackens.
On the other hand, friendship for pleasure is linked to having a good time and works as long as the setting accompanies it, but changes when rhythms, ages or contexts change.
Finally, there is friendship by virtue, which is classified as the strangest of this group. In this type of bond, loyalty and perseverance outweigh convenience.
Chosen solitude or disconnection: where is the difference
Meanwhile, the psychology does not mark a number of friends that guarantees well-being, and in the same way maintains it Aristotle: Friendship should prioritize quality and not quantity.
You can have a great social life and feel alone. And you can also have two or three firm ties and be fine, if they are real and sustained relationships.
Furthermore, it is advisable to separate chosen solitude from painful disconnection. There are lonelier people who enjoy silence and that does not imply unhappiness.
In addition to that phrase about amistad, Aristotle He left other lines that are often quoted because they go to the same core: community life and character. One of the most repeated is: “Man is by nature a social animal.”
The idea is simple: you can choose moments of solitude, but life is put together with others, and that ends up influencing well-being, habits and stability.
