Aquinas on Friendship [Hardcover]

Daniel Schwartz examines the thoughts of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas on the subject of friendship--the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. He uses illuminating examples from human relationships and politics to highlight the contemporary relevance of the ideas of this great thinker.Daniel Schwartz examines the views on friendship of the great medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. For Aquinas friendship is the ideal type of relationship that rational beings should cultivate. Schwartz argues that Aquinas fundamentally revises some of the main features of Aristotle's paradigmatic account of friendship so as to accommodate the case of friendship between radically unequal beings: man and God. As a result, Aquinas presents a broader view of friendship than Aristotle's, allowing for a higher extent of disagreement. lack of mutual understanding, and inequality between friends.1. Aquinas on friendship: larger themes2. What concord requires3. Friendship and conformity of wills4. What prevents us from joining other people's projects: pride as an impediment to conformity of wills5. Friendship and uncertainty: presumptions and hope6. Friendship and recourse to justice7. Justice, satisfaction, and restoration of friendship8. Concluding RemarksDaniel Schwartzis Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.Caters for the growing philosophical interest in virtue and personal relationships