The virtue of solitude and the vicissitudes of friendship

Friendship and Politics

“…Irwin, 1995; Nichols, 2009) and especially to Aristotle, whose account of friendship developed in the Nicomachean Ethics and employed in the Politics tends to cast a long shadow over subsequent political thought (compare Pangle, 2003; Schollmeier, 1994; Stern‐Gillet, 1995; although Cooper's work still remains the standard [Cooper, 1977, 1993]). The Aristotelian concept of civic friendship has also been the basis of studies on politics and friendship for the modern period which has led to an increasing consideration of the role of friendship in the politics of modernity (Gandhi, 2006; Hutter, 2000; Kharkhordin, 2006; King and Devere, 2000; White, 1999).…”

“…Notable here is Horst Hutter, who draws on the Graeco-Roman writers but concludes his book with a new account of friendship for modern times (Hutter, 1978). In a later article Hutter (2000, p. 146) addresses the ‘appearance of friendship in advanced modern societies’ that he characterises as limited to ‘at best a kind of benign indifference'. He advocates as the most appropriate model for modern friendship the one proposed by Epicurus, orientated to a cosmopolitan ideal, rather than ‘tied to human beings in their capacity as citizens’ (Hutter, 2000, p. 146).…”

“…In a later article Hutter (2000, p. 146) addresses the ‘appearance of friendship in advanced modern societies’ that he characterises as limited to ‘at best a kind of benign indifference'. He advocates as the most appropriate model for modern friendship the one proposed by Epicurus, orientated to a cosmopolitan ideal, rather than ‘tied to human beings in their capacity as citizens’ (Hutter, 2000, p. 146). Likewise, Michael Pakaluk has argued that the American republic should be considered to be a ‘particularly clear expression’ of friendship as it is a manifestation of the agreement that exists between citizens.…”

Depathologizing the tourist syndrome

“…All social capital exists only in as far as the social ties among people are real (Glover and Hemingway, 2005). In particular, the highly mobile and fleeting friendships in today's society need repetition of pleasurable memories in order to renew themselves (Bauman, 2003;Hutter, 2000). Conversations on shared holiday memories are about reinforcing the meanings behind mutual interests and the reasons why people use another as a resource for fun and amusement.…”