Friendship is “an absolute necessity,” Aristotle claims, explaining that “no one would choose to live without friends, even if he had all the other goods.” What sort of “good” is friendship? And how does it differ from the other goods of life? Does anyone ever choose a life of friendlessness, or is it simply imposed upon them?

In this reading group, we’ll discuss texts on friendship and friendlessness from both philosophical and literary perspectives, focusing on theories of friendship and friendlessness as well as experiential accounts of friendship and friendlessness.

Many of our readings are classic texts on the topic of friendship. I’ve recommended certain editions below that are reasonably priced, solid translations, most with helpful editor’s introductions. The readings are, however, in the public domain, so if you prefer to access bare-bones editions of the texts online, that’s fine. Do keep in mind, though, that we are reading the 1818, not the 1831, edition of Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Friendship and Friendlessness meets on the third Wednesday of the month, 5:30-7pm. Meetings will take place on Zoom.

Wed, February 17
Cicero, On Friendship
Shelley, Frankenstein

Wed, March 17
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Books VIII and IX
Wollstonecraft, Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark

Wed, April 21
Montaigne, Of Friendship
Gournay, Apology for the Woman Writing

Wed, May 19
Plato, Symposium
Scudéry, The Story of Sapho

Recommended Editions:

Michael Pakaluk, ed. Other Selves: Philosophers on Friendship (Hackett, 1991) (Contains the readings for Aristotle, Cicero, and Montaigne) ($18.00)

Mary Wollstonecraft. Letters Written during a Short Residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark (Oxford World Classics, 2009) ($13.00)

Madeleine de Scudéry. The Story of Sapho, trans. Karen Newman (U. of Chicago Press, 2003) ($28.00)

Marie le Jars de Gournay. Apology for the Woman Writing and other works, ed. and trans.  R. Hillman and C. Quensel (U. of Chicago Press, 2002) ($33.00)

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein: the 1818 edition (Penguin Classics, 2018) ($10.00)

Plato, The Symposium and The Phaedrus: Plato’s Erotic Dialogues, trans. William S. Cobb (SUNY Press, 1993) ($28.00)

Nancy Kendrick is Professor of Philosophy at Wheaton College in Norton, MA. She has published many articles on the philosophy of the early modern period, including several on the theories of friendship advanced by Mary Astell and Mary Wollstonecraft. She lives in Providence.