Great Philosophers on Friendship and Solitude

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https://hdl.handle.net/2144/36016

The history of philosophy features as many great questions as it does great thinkers. A set of questions affecting us all are those surrounding friendship. Philosophers have asked, for instance:

Are friends valuable, and if so in what does friendship's value consist? Do friends make us morally better? Do they inherently make us happier? Do they make us better off in some other way? Are there costs to friendship? And are they worth the cost?

This collection comprises several papers from students on these questions and excerpts from the philosophical works they engage. These papers were selected by students and the professor, Ian D. Dunkle, from among those submitted as an assignment for CAS PH 110 A1 Great Philosophers (Spring 2019) at Boston University.

Contents of Collection

a. Abdullah Al Kudsi "Valuable Indulgence: A Response to Schopenhauer and Social Pessimism"

b. Katherine Byrd "A Reflection on Moral Maxims"

c. Nathan Ho "Schopenhauer’s Disvalue of Society"

d. Esther Kang "The Moral Preconditions for Friendship: A Middle Ground between Aristotle, Cicero, and Nehamas"

e. Adam Salachi "Self-Reflection through Genuine Friends: Expanding the Schopenhauerian Conception"

Selected Readings

a. Cicero, On Friendship (abridged)

b. Epictetus, selections from Discourses

c. François La Rochefoucauld, Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims (abridged)

d. Arthur Schopenhauer, selections from essays on suffering and the wisdom of life

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Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Great Philosophers on Friendship and Solitude (2019)
(Boston University Libraries, 2019) Dunkle, Ian D.
The complete collection of materials for Ian Dunkle's 2019 course on Great Philosophers on Friendship and Solitude, including Introduction, selection of student essays, and selected readings.
Schopenhauer’s Disvalue of Society
(2019-05) Ho, Nathan H.
In Parerga and Paralipomena, Schopenhauer argues against society and social interactions by highlighting various disadvantages or costs of society, such as interpersonal discord, restraint on one’s freedom, and obstruction of self-reflection in society. The author of this paper entitled Schopenhauer's Disvalue of Society argues that Schopenhauer’s argument against society is incomplete and does not present strong reason to be alone or avoid making friends. He discusses various benefits of friendship, such as social and personal skills acquired from social interactions, having friends to share in one’s joy, and that self-reflection in society is possible and superior to self-reflection in seclusion. These benefits, he argues, outweigh the costs, or the bad, of society. Therefore, social interaction should be promoted instead of social isolation.
Introduction to Great Philosophers of Friendship and Solitude
(2019-08) Dunkle, Ian
This is an introduction to the OpenBU collection, "Great Philosophers on Friendship and Solitude".
Selected readings on Suffering and the Wisdom of Life
(Various, 2019) Schopenhauer, Arthur
Schopenhauer, in two abridged essays, argues for, among other claims, the claim that human life is not worth living, that is, that the good life is unattainable by anyone ("On the Suffering of the World"); that the best life attainable for human beings is one of self-sufficiency and intellectual contemplation but that this still requires good health and a cheerful disposition ("The Wisdom of Life"); and finally that society brings more bad than good to one's life and should only be indulged when absolutely necessary ("Counsels and Maxims").
Selected reading of Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims
(Project Gutenberg (Simpson Low, Son, and Marston), 1871) La Rochefoucauld, Francois
In a distinctive and polished series of short aphorisms, La Rochefoucauld explores the oddities of human nature and how they affect our use of moral categories to understand the behavior of ourselves and others.
Selected reading from the Discourses of Epictetus
(Project Gutenberg, 2004) Epictetus
Epictetus describes some of the core features of Stoic virtue, including freedom and the importance of solitude.
Selected reading from Treatise on Friendship
(Project Gutenberg, 2009) Cicero, Marcus Tullius
Cicero describes the necessary features, the value, and the limits of friendship through a short dialogue.
A reflection on Moral Maxims
(2019-06) Byrd, Katherine
The moral preconditions for friendship: a middle ground between Aristotle, Cicero, and Nehamas
(2019-06) Kang, Esther
Self-reflection through genuine friends: expanding the Schopenhauerian conception
(2019-06) Salachi, Adam
Valuable indulgence: a response to Schopenhauer and social pessimism
(2019-06) Al Kudsi, Abdullah

Great Philosophers on Friendship and Solitude

Permanent URI for this collection

Contents of Collection

Introduction — Ian D. Dunkle

Original Essays

Selected Readings

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