Aristotle points out that friendship can show us something important about moral virtue. Through kindness, bravery, and self-sacrifice, a virtuous friendship can be attained. It is also in this friendship that people feel most fulfilled. Aristotle thinks that virtue is mostly realized through friendship. Even though this might be true, it can be confusing to understand the difference between moral virtue and the goodness of friends. When Aristotle says that friendship is necessary he is talking about a complete friendship, since incomplete friendships cannot be called friendships of virtue. In activities that people have there are three main things people want when it comes to friendships; pleasure, utility or the good. Aristotle also claims that in order to be virtuous you must love yourself. On these terms I will argue that the kind of friendship that Socrates and Crito have is not a virtuous one. .
Friendship is very important in Aristotle's moral and social philosophy. This because of the fact that becoming virtuous and living the good life depends on the kind of community one exists in and the sort of relationships one has with other people. Moreover, friendship is also basically good since it stands for a development or perfection of the human person, what Aristotle would call a good of the soul.
Towards the three types of friendships, the friendship that is based simply upon utility or pleasure last only so long as the people involved are useful to one another and give each other pleasure. Neither is really interested in the other for from the goodness of the heart, because their only purpose for being friends is for their own pleasure and resources. Though even these sorts of friendships are important, they are not of the best kinds of friendships. Besides being unstable and selfish, these kinds of friendships can exist even for awful people. .
On the other hand, friendships based on goodness, last long because these friends keep themselves away from evil.
