Mark Vernon links the resources of the philosophical tradition with numerous illustrations from modern culture to ask what friendship is and how it relates to sex, work, politics and spirituality. Unusually, he argues that Plato and Nietzsche, as much as Aristotle and Aelred, should be put center stage. Their penetrating and occasionally tough insights are invaluable if friendship is to be a full, not merely sentimental, way of life for today.
Introduction: The Ambiguity of Friendship * Friends at Work * Friends and Lovers * Faking It * Unconditional Love * Civic Friendship * Politics of Friendship * The Spirituality of Friendship * Conclusion: Philosophy and Friendship * Further Reading and References * Appendix: Plato and Aristotle on Friendship * Index
