If Aristotle's Kid Had an iPod by Conor Gallagher

Author:Conor Gallagher [Gallagher, Conor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781618908018
Publisher: Saint Benedict Press
Published: 2012-09-05T00:00:00+00:00

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Americans are losing friends left and right, even though our standard of what constitutes a “friend” is much less than a true, Aristotelian friend.

Aristotle believed that friendship, particularly true friendship, was the remedy to many problems in life. “In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge,” he said. A true friend provides a good at the right time and in the right way. Friends “keep the young out of mischief,” he says. As the old saying goes, “Idle hands are the devil’s tools.” Kids are no different today than they were in ancient Greece. They must stay busy, real busy, to stay out of trouble. Of course, pleasure friendships among kids can lead to broken windows, dangerous forts, blown-up Barbie convertibles, and more. Therefore, the job of a parent is to find constructive, fun things for little kids to do with friends.

As your kids grow older, Aristotle says that true friends move each other “to noble deeds.” Here lies the highest form of friendship. The most perfect friendship helps each friend strive for virtue. But your kid doesn’t have to wait until adulthood to develop a true friendship, as we will address momentarily.

For now, however, remember that today’s most cutting-edge research is proving Aristotle right on the importance of friendship for a virtuous and happy life. If your kid’s best friend eats healthily, your kid will be five times more likely to eat a healthy diet. If he gets married, he will say that friendship is five times more important than physical intimacy with his spouse. And if he doesn’t feel that he has true friends at work, he will have just a one in twelve chance of feeling engaged in his job. Amazingly, if he has a good friend at work, he will be seven times more likely to feel engaged. Clearly, friendship is monumentally important in life…and it starts in the sandbox.

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