When you find a true friend, it can be one of life’s greatest gifts. But not all friendships are created equal, and what defines “friendship” varies from person to person. Is a friend someone you enjoy hanging out with? Someone you can confide in? Someone who always has your back?

What makes someone a friend has been a question people have pondered since ancient times, as evidenced by Aristotle’s musings on the subject in 350 B.C. The famous philosopher wrote that friendship doesn’t only differ in degree, but in type, stating that there are three distinct kinds of friends people can have.

Did you know Aristotle thought friendship was more important than justice? Near the end of the Nicomachean Ethics, he writes, "When men are friends, they have no need of justice, but when they are just, they still need friendship."His point is simple. Laws exist because… pic.twitter.com/eC4lgBWuqS— Athenaeum Book Club (@athenaeumbc) July 6, 2026

Did you know Aristotle thought friendship was more important than justice? Near the end of the Nicomachean Ethics, he writes, "When men are friends, they have no need of justice, but when they are just, they still need friendship."His point is simple. Laws exist because… pic.twitter.com/eC4lgBWuqS— Athenaeum Book Club (@athenaeumbc) July 6, 2026

Friendships of Utility

Some friendships are somewhat transactional in nature, where each person gets something useful out of the relationship. “Those who love each other for their utility do not love each other for themselves but in virtue of some good which they get from each other,” Aristotle wrote, saying that “friendship based on utility is for the commercially minded.”

An example of a friendship of utility might be a friendship you have with your coworkers or business colleagues. You may genuinely like one another, but if one of you leaves the work environment, the friendship goes with it. Another example might be between a host and a guest who frequents an establishment regularly.

“Now the useful is not permanent but is always changing,” Aristotle wrote. “Thus when the motive of the friendship is done away, the friendship is dissolved, inasmuch as it existed only for the ends in question. This kind of friendship seems to........

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