\r\nThe same goes for friendships of pleasure, though pleasure is less obviously materialistic than utility. We enjoy the company of witty people not because of who they are, but because we like their humor. As Aristotle tells us, “in a friendship based on utility or on pleasure men love their friend for their own good or their own pleasure, and not as being the person loved, but as useful or agreeable.”"} 5b:{"type":"p","text":"Bonds of utility and pleasure are fundamentally instrumental. They are “based on an accident” and “easily broken off.” When friends stop being witty, or when they sell their car, we stop benefitting from their humor or material goods and cease to seek their company."} 5c:{"type":"img","width":"1580","height":"1199","src":"https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2024/10/18/id5743893-alcibades.jpg","text":"\"Alcibiades Receiving the Lessons of Socrates,\" 1776, by François-André Vincent. Oil on canvas; 38 4/5 inches by 51 1/2 inches. Fabre Museum, Montpellier, France. (Public Domain)","align":"aligncenter"} 5d:{"type":"p","text":"\r\n

Virtue

\r\nAristotle doesn’t condemn utility and pleasure completely. Each has its benefits. He is, however, uncompromising in claiming that only a friendship of virtue can foster the genuine happiness in this life."} 5e:{"type":"p","text":"A friendship of virtue is the best kind, but it’s also the rarest. It produces pleasure, because virtue is gratifying. But its pleasure stems from a purer disposition to wish the other’s good for the other’s sake. It’s deeper and more lasting because it doesn’t depend on external circumstances. Only those who wish another’s good without ulterior motives are “friends in the fullest sense, since they love each other for themselves and not accidentally.” This prerequisite—unconditional love—is necessary for virtue to flourish between friends."} 5f:{"type":"p","text":"In addition to unconditional love, this form of friendship requires thoro

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