For statesmen, friendship is the lingua franca of politics. Considering
the connections between personal and political friendship, John von
Heyking's The Form of Politics interprets the texts of Plato and
Aristotle and emphasizes the role that friendship has in enduring
philosophical and contemporary political contexts. Beginning with a
discussion on virtue-friendship, described by Aristotle and Plato as an
agreement on what qualifies as the pursuit of good, The Form of Politics
demonstrates that virtue and political friendship form a paradoxical
relationship in which political friendships need to be nourished by
virtue-friendships that transcend the moral and intellectual horizons of
the political society. Von Heyking then examines Aristotle's ethical and
political writings - which are set within the boundaries of political
life - and Plato's dialogues on friendship in Lysis and the Laws, which
characterize political friendship as festivity. Ultimately, arguing that
friendship is the high point of a virtuous political life, von Heyking
presents a fresh interpretation of Aristotle and Plato's political
thought, and a new take on the most essential goals in politics.
Inviting reassessment of the relationship between friendship and
politics by returning to the origins of Western philosophy, The Form of
Politics is a lucid work on the foundations of political cooperation.