Summary: Are friendships optional? Are they necessary to live the good life? Is there a universal need to give and receive affection? Why do we treat our friends the way we do? Where do our feelings about friendships come from? Are friendships more "disposable" than they used to be? How do friendships come to be? How much is it by choice? How much is it by chance? Does it require willful action? What are friends for? What are the motives for making and keeping friends? How can we know if a friendship is "true"? What do we expect from friendship? How do expectations differ? Are friendships meant to last forever? What are the ethics of ending a friendship? Is friendship an investment? Is it ethical to end a friendship with unequal investment, "an unbalanced account"? Is it ethical to just fade away? Must we know and must we give a reason for ending a friendship? How do we reconcile the need to grow and to be free with the expectations of friendship? Can we ever fail to profit from our friendship "investment" so long as we see friendship as its own reward without any further expectations? Join citizen philosophers Deborah Martin, Steven Stokes, Uriah J. Fields and myself in this stimulating and insightful discussion. Music provided by David Rood.
