On Friendship: Intellectual Community and the Search for Connection

Catalog description

Friendship is woven into the fabric of a good life. But what is a friend, and why are the bonds of friendship so powerful? This course explores the nature and value of friendship in life and learning, drawing from the resources of philosophy, literature, education, history, and case studies in the real world. To pursue these enduring questions about social and intellectual bonds, we will reach back to ancient philosophies of friendship in Plato and Aristotle; we will also engage contemporary theories of care, trust, and collaboration. This will give us insight into the ethical dimensions of friendship: what it means to care for others, why we are partial to friends more than strangers, and how trusted friends can serve as salves in contexts of harm or injustice. It will also illuminate its intellectual dimensions: what it means to learn from friends, to build intellectual curiosity and empathy, and to appreciate one another's ways of thinking. Beyond the ethical and intellectual richness of friendship, we will consider its existential value, too: how it shapes meaning in wonderful and difficult moments of life. The value of friendship can also be extended to other important domains of support for college students: teaching and mentoring. We will examine how educational relationships, which share key features with friendship, contribute to a good life during and after college. Across the course, students will put many of these questions into practice by interviewing members of the Stanford community, distilling sources and purposes of mentorship, and setting goals for themselves as students and mentees. The course may be especially of interest to those who enjoyed COLLEGE 101 and 102, which together investigate tenets of a good life for individuals and communities.