Aristotle differentiated friendships of pleasure from friendships of utility by virtue of the fact that the former are based on preferences and shared interests whereas the latter are based on specific needs that exist irrespective of preferences and interests. For example, the friendship between shopkeepers and their customers is based on a reciprocal need: the shopkeeper has a need for the patronage of the customer to support himself and the customer has a need for the goods sold by the shopkeeper. In most cases, neither of those individuals has any choice or control over the need that generates the friendship. Conversely, in friendships of pleasure, the individuals involved typically choose their respective interests that they share with their counterparts in the friendship and that form the basis of that relationship (Magill & McGreal, 1981).
Whereas Aristotle characterizes friendships of utility as most natural among the elderly, he suggested that friendships of pleasure are most natural to young people. While the first suggestion may or may not be entirely accurate, one could easily conclude that the second suggestion is extremely accurate, even today (or, perhaps, especially today). For example, children typically form friendships based on nothing more than the physical proximity of their homes or their attendance of the same classes. Childhood friendships are largely identical even among many different pairs of friends and they are relatively easily formed and terminated, such as by relocation of transfers to new schools. Likewise, teenagers often form friendships and select their friends from their many acquaintances based on superficialities such as appreciation for similar music or sports interests.
Aristotle argues that, as a result, friendships of pleasure are equally superficial and, much like friendships of utility, are formed and ended quickly, and they are relatively easily exchanged (Magill & McGreal, 1981). Aristotle's views of friendships of pleasure would also appear to be highly applicable to contemporary friendships among individuals whose principal motivation or inspiration for friendship is a shared interest in an external pursuit or recreational activity. In that regard, it differs from friendship of utility only in the former reflects a mutual satisfaction of a need that is not necessarily chosen by the individuals while the latter often...
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