The Question | Questions | What is a Friend?

2 Dec

Friendship is a very special relationship. What is it? What distinguishes true friends from mere pals or acquaintances? Here?s one answer from a young philosopher.

Raef

Raef is kind-hearted and thoughtful 11 year old. He is a 6 th grader at South Middle School . His favorite classes are math and H.O.T.S (an accelerated learning class period.)

Like many 11 year old boys, Raef enjoys eating and sleeping. He also likes watching TV, playing soccer, and reading. He is currently reading The Redwall series by Brian Jacques. He also likes to read mysteries and epics like Lord of the Rings . He also enjoys watching movies. Three of his favorite recent movies are, The Mummy , Napoleon Dynamite , and Dodgeball . After I interviewed Raef, he and his two sisters treated me to a showing of Bill and Ted?s Excellent Adventure . There was a lot of laughing in Raef?s living room as we watched together. If you have not seen Bill and Ted?s Excellent Adventure , you should. The great philosopher, Socrates, is in the movie!

Raef loves acting. He has acted in a long list of plays put on by the Morgantown Theatre Company. He has played leading roles in Babes in Toyland (as Jack), Stone Soup (as Francois), and The Creepy Creeps of Pilgrim Road (as Sinbad). He is busy rehearsing for his role as Bugsy Malone in the February 2006 production of Bugsy Malone. Raef loves acting so much that he hopes to be an actor someday.

Raef has traveled to Germany , Switzerland , Italy , and France with his parents and two sisters. He loves his dog, Willow , a Black Lab and Border Collie mix. Raef and Willow run in the woods together, to keep Raef in good shape for soccer. Raef can do 100 sit-ups without a break!

Raef chose the philosophical question, ?What is a friend?? As I expected, Raef had a very thoughtful answer. ?A friend is someone who is loyal, trustworthy, and always there for you. A friendship has to be a mutual relationship. If you are loyal, trustworthy, and always there for another person, but they do not treat you the same way, that person is not a real friend. Similarly, if a person is loyal, trustworthy, and always there for you, but you do not treat them the same way, then you are not a true friend.? For Raef, reciprocity within the relationship is as important as the virtues of loyalty and trust that comprise friendship. Philosophers wonder about this question because it is interesting, in and of itself. Everyone has pondered the question at some point. However, it becomes especially interesting when you think about friendship and ethics. It seems that the demands of friendship and morality can sometimes conflict. It appears that doing the right thing all the time might prevent a person from being a true friend some of the time. Why? Friendship seems to require special treatment. Friends, it seems, deserve preferential treatment. Morality, however, seems to require fairness, or impartiality. Imagine, for example, that you did not give your friend preferential treatment in a conflict between a friend and another person. Would that action prevent you from being a true friend? Would acting morally sometimes conflict with the virtues of friendship? Or, is it possible to be both a true friend and a moral person in all situations? Think about it!

Very interesting… as always! Cheers from -Switzerland-.

Hey Raef! I didn’t exactly under stand the last part of the article, ” What is a Friend ”. The imagine part.
And I was wanddering what year this article was opened.

your “Fan”,
Emilee C.

What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies.

?Aristotle

What is a friend?

I think a friend is someone that you could honestly trust.
To me a friend is someone that there is no doubt in your mind if they will be here tomorrow. They are people that are there to confide in and comfort you. Acquaintances are people that come around every know and then, someone that u hold simple convo’s with not giving to much of your business to.Some people argue that a friend is someone that has known you for the longest and things of that sort. I disagree. There is no time limit to friendship. Someone that you meet and known for a year could be a better friend then one u’ve known since birth.. the simple fact is.. a friend is a person that you can trust and that youll know will always be there.

Friends are a strong commodity in today’s world. A true friend is always there for you. They give advice to you but will always stand up for your beliefs. That is the difference between a friend, and a true or best friend. A friend will invite you out to bar to have a blast on thirsty Thursday, but a true friend will be the one that makes sure you get back ok.

Now that I’m in college, I realize that we take advantage of our friends even if we don’t mean to. My best friend from high school now goes to a different college; I realize that things just aren’t the same without him around. True friends are treated like they are family to you. I and this kid are tight with each other’s family to the point that we will hang out at each other’s houses when we aren’t even there. It our home away from home.

Friends will always encourage you to work toward your goals and they will constantly remind you to keep your values in tact. When you do succeed, they are the first to congratulate you. And when times get rough, they are there for you. A true friend will listen, and tell you how they feel about your situation. You can always trust a true friend, and if you are betrayed, they aren’t a true friend after all. Many people are afraid of losing friends when going to college, but I believe that if they really are your friend and you really want to stay close to them in the future, you won’t lose contact with them. If they are that good of a friend, you will remain friends throughout your college career and when it’s all over, you’ll still go to each other for encouragement and help.

When it comes to a friend, and then ethics on top of that things can get tricky. You can always try to help your friend make good decisions and guide them to do the right thing. But a person can only do so much, and i think that being a true friend sometimes you have to just let things go and move on. I think when you are put into situations like that, you realize who your true friends are. Some times when a “friend” does something you dont approve, they arent apart of your life anymore maybe as an easy solution. But i think that when it really comes down to it, a true friend is there no matter what. They will be there to fix things, and even if it gets tough… in the end they are still there. I do think that everyone has their own experiences, and how they’ve encountered those experiences will ultimately determine how they would handle being a “good friend,” or being an ethical person.

A friend is someone you can have fun with. You can go to the movies, study, or just be goofy with at home. A friend can always make you feel better when you are down, and can help you in tough situations. A friend is someone who you can count on to do what they say they will do, as well as having your best interest in mind. A friend is someone who knows you, and knows what you are about. They brighten up your life, and in turn you brighten up theres. (Atleast the majority of the time!)

i think there is only one trait needed in a friend:

you can count on them

Someone who would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, and likewise, someone who would go as far out of their way as possible to help you.