Can life be meaningful without friends?
In considering whether a life without friends would make sense, we must first consider what friendship is and what it means to people. Friendship in its most basic definition
is known as the social and emotional bond established by people who show love and understanding to each other. Because we are social beings as a human species, we may need a person or persons to make friends, help each other, understand our feelings and support us. This is why many people may think that life without friends would be meaningless. Of course, it could also be the other way around. Some people are not really into making friends and socializing. Would life be meaningless for them without friends? It probably won't create much more difference. If I were to give my opinion on this dilemma, my answer would be that life without friends would be meaningless. But this of course can also vary depending on the size of the friendship. Let's explore this further.
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To clarify the friendship issue, philosophers have developed theories, discussed, and tried to reason on these issues. The most common of these studies is Aristotle's definition of friendship. According to the great philosopher Aristotle, three types of friendship can be defined: Friendship for benefit, Friendship for pleasure, and Friendship for virtue. In friendship for the benefit, it is the type of friendship that includes things like trust, support, and having a good time. There may be an expectation among friends, but these types of friendships also come with desires and goals such as social status and recognition. In friendship for pleasure, the only thing that the parties want is to have a good time. We can say that the only purpose of such friendship relationships is to relax and have fun. In short, we can say that it is a type of friendship established with people who live an empty, meaningless, and pleasure-oriented life. İn friendship for virtue, it is much more than utility or pleasure. There is a bond of fraternity between them. Because you see the good in the other person, you form and develop friendships with them. This is a generous friendship; the aim is only friendship and fraternity. The only purpose is to spend good quality time together, chat and support each other unconditionally in bad times. In simpler terms, we can say a perfect friendship or even siblinghood. When we compare these 3 types of friendship, which one would we say, if we had it, life would be meaningless without friends?
To give an answer, to this, may vary depending on what is sought in friendship. According to some, friendship may be structures created to only spend time together, to gain popularity for some, and to spend good and quality time that will continue for a long time for others. When we think in detail and logically, most people may want to continue on their way for a long time, to support each other on the most difficult roads, and to be the happiest person on the happiest days. Also, this includes loving each other unconditionally, regardless of distance. I think the best friendships are born out of friendship as defined by Aristotle's concept of friendship for virtue. And I'm sure that when asked if life would be meaningless without friends, people with this friendship would say yes.
This conclusion can be reached thanks to Aristotle's judgments. Aristotle defines the best friend as follows: 'The person who only wants good for the other person is the best friend.' He states that the best friendships are formed by people who are good and virtuous alone.
As we understand from here, friendship is a kind of virtuous relationship for Aristotle. He finds the friendship of virtuous people wonderful and permanent. We can explain the reason why he says it is permanent with his own words: 'If you are friends with good people, you will be fine.' Also claims that, as long as kindness is in a cycle, friendship will continue and it will be permanent. He also stated that the friendship of wicked people who do not have virtue is due to similarities, interests, or pleasures. It can be said that the type of friendship he defined above is suitable for Virtue’s definition of friendship. In this way, don't people who have this kind of friend think that their friends are indispensable to their lives? The answer is yes, probably.
To give an example, let's say we have 3 types of friends. A friend of ours communicates with us just to be popular, a friend of ours only communicates because he is looking for fun, but unlike them, let's imagine that one of them loves us wholeheartedly, wants to be friends with you to share anything with you, wants to be with you, in your good days and bad days. Which one is your true friend and life would be meaningless for you without it? The answer is pretty obvious, I think option 3 would usually be most people's choice. As I mentioned before, Aristotle said that your 3rd friend might be the most suitable based on these theories. However, since this is a personal opinion, it would not be right to make an inference that it is 100% true. Because it's about people who make friends.
While most people think that a life without friends would be meaningless, on the contrary, some think the opposite. For some, life can be meaningful without friends. As the philosopher and sociologist Zygmunt Bauman said, society is becoming increasingly individualistic. This makes ties and contacts more fragile, unreliable and even makes difficult. Friends come and go and rarely stay. While this can create dissatisfaction, some people get used to it. Another thought is that people need access to daily social interaction, at least the most basic ones. It's like talking to your colleagues at work and talking to neighbors or a salesman at a local store.
It can feel a good many people feel good enough that they don't even need to go any further. As a result of this, they do not search and do not want to consolidate the solid bonds that will become true friendships. Therefore, this type of superficial interaction is sufficient for some people no matter their gender. These people could safely say that a person can truly live without friends.
People who embrace the idea that friendless life can be meaningful may end up alone after a while because they are not very inclined to make friends. Of course, it is possible to live without friends. However, the long-term effects can also be bad. Many people, for one reason, lack that kind of attachment and accept that they will spend their time that way. But the question is whether this has some kind of psychological consequence. Every person is indeed different. Some will find the ties of their families or spouses sufficient. Others may feel content with their solitude. However, this is neither normal nor recommended. Moreover, we must take into account the fact that suicides are becoming more frequent in this individualistic society of fragile relationships. Yes, indeed, being friendless doesn't kill us all by itself, but it does make life difficult. People need quality friendships they need people they can trust to create situations where they can feed them emotionally. Friendship makes human existence more fulfilling, gives more meaning, and offers a support mechanism that has a positive effect on mental health. For this reason, at least one friend, who we can lean on in difficult times, who can share our happiness with us in our happy times, who can be our confidant and comrade, can make our lives much more meaningful.
The question of whether a life without friends would make sense varies from person to person and is somewhat difficult to answer without careful consideration. Every person has a different story and the characters in this story are also quite different from each other. That's why everyone's relationships with people are different. For example, a person who has no one but his friends in his life answers this question without thinking that life will be meaningless. but those who put their friends in second place could say it would, even if it wasn't. Therefore, answers can vary significantly and there is no need or urgency to answer. Instead, it might be the question of what is true friendship, which is more likely to be answered and is again personal.
To summarize all these arguments, I would like to start the sentence with a sentence from Pythagoras: 'Friends are like comrades on a journey that must help each other to persevere on the road to a happier life.' As can be deduced from this sentence, one of the most important factors that make our life meaningful is friendship. As we discussed in the previous sentences, of course, this depends on our friendships, but we should not be alone in this life. Our true friends offer us a different perspective in this life, show us the right path, and love us unconditionally. Why deprive ourselves of the opportunity to find true friendship and make our lives so much more meaningful? In short, friends make our life meaningful, and without them, our life would be more meaningless.
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