Reply to the following post below.

profileDeezPump

 

  • What have we lost or gained in our ability to fully express ourselves in our friendships in our contemporary, Western society?

One thing we have lost I would say is the ability to completely trust  another person without there being something to gain from the other  person. Many friends only do for each other out of convenience or for a  potential gain. Going back to the Aristotle's friendship of utility,  Trust I believe of course would be earned over time but trust is an  ability that does not come easy; unlike babies who trust their mother,  adults when establishing connections and friendships, trust is something  that comes from  usually after a "give or take moment". The one thing  we did gain was familiarity of extended family. For those who grew up as  only children in the household, friends helped establish that sibling  connection we missed out on. At this point our children would call them  "aunt" or "uncle" . That sense of of family and welcoming feeling that  one shares in a friendship allows us to establish stable relationships.

  • To what extent is the enactment and expression of friendship  similar/ different in contemporary society compared with Medieval Europe  and Ancient Greece?  Discuss the personal and societally-imposed  constraints that limit our sharing close friendship bonds with others  today.

One similarity between medieval Europe and Ancient Greece to the  present would be Symposium, this term is most relatable to me as I like  to frequently indulge in social events that involve alcohol with my  friends, all in good fun of course. Although in earlier times during a  symposium, men would drink out of the same cup and thus bonds were  formed (Vernon, p.161). Today if 2 men drank out of the same cup and  they were not intimately involved, then someone would either get upset  or just questions would be flying around. Social events such as these  are great in team building and for friends to come together to catch up  on life. As adults many of us aren't able to speak with our friends on a  day to day basis, so at times we may choose a day to go out to dinner  at a restaurant, to a bar for happy hour, to a party of club, or even  plan a vacation. For me, I'm a busy man, between spending time with my  daughter on the weekends while also putting effort in a long distance  relationship with my girlfriend, finding time to hang with the guys  outside of work has been difficult. The out of sight out of mind feeling  that society places on us really puts a damper on friendships, but one  thing is for sure having symposiums or small outings with friends or  even having game nights on a friday will benefit you personally and also  keep friendships strong.

Vernon, M. (2010). The Meaning of Friendship. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. Chapter 6: Politics of Friendship.

    • 4 years ago
    • 5
    Answer(1)

    Purchase the answer to view it

    blurred-text
    NOT RATED
    • attachment
      Response.edited.docx
    • attachment
      response2.pdf