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Should We Share Misfortune with Our Friends? Pleasure and Pain in the Context of Aristotle’s Theory of Friendship
This paper explores Aristotle’s claim that, while we should be ready to assist our friends in their misfortunes, we should not share our pain with them and instead share only good things. I analyze the role this idea plays within Aristotle’s overall theory of friendship, particularly his argument that sharing pain with friends brings us pleasure but causes them pain. Further, I examine Aristotle’s broader understanding of pleasure and pain, including their interplay and his view on the nature of their mixture. I show that Aristotle’s discussion of feeling both pleasure and pain when sharing misfortunes with friends has deeper ontological implications, rooted in his theory of mixture (mixis, krasis). Aristotle’s claim that we should avoid sharing pain with friends, I argue, reflects not only his conception of what constitutes a noble friendship but also his understanding of the ontological incompatibility of pleasure and pain as a true mixture.
