Abstract
That friends form some sort of unity is one of the remarkable facts about friendship. We identify with our friends in a way in which we do not identify with non-friends. This identification forms the foundation for the distinction that we make between friends and non-friends. Many other facts about friendship are grounded in it — such as the fact that we are willing to help friends in a way that goes beyond what is otherwise demanded by morality or custom. When our friends need someone to help them move to a new apartment, for example, we will help them without demanding anything in return; we would be rather reluctant to do the same for a stranger. So it is important to ask what sort of unity friendship possesses. In what follows, I shall argue that we find an interesting conception of this unity in Plato.
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© 2013 Damian Caluori
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Caluori, D. (2013). Friendship in Kallipolis. In: Caluori, D. (eds) Thinking about Friendship. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137003997_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137003997_4
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