M. Vernon 
The Philosophy of Friendship 

In this new accessible philosophy of friendship, Mark Vernon links the resources of the philosophical tradition with numerous illustrations from modern culture to ask what friendship is, how it relates to sex, work, politics and spirituality. Unusually, he argues that Plato and Nietzsche, as much as Aristotle and Aelred, should be put centre stage. Their penetrating and occasionally tough insights are invaluable if friendship is to be a full, not merely sentimental, way of life for today.

Table of Content

Acknowledgements Introduction: The Ambiguity of Friendship Friends at Work Friends and Lovers Faking It Unconditional Love Civic Friendship Politics of Friendship The Spirituality of Friendship Conclusion: Philosophy and Friendship Further Reading and References Appendix: Plato and Aristotle on Friendship Index

About the author

Mark Vernon began his professional life as a priest in the Church of England, left an atheist, and is now a searching agnostic on such things. He is a writer and journalist, other titles including After Atheism and Wellbeing , part of the Art of Living series he edits. He writes regularly for the Guardian and the TLS , is on the faculty at The School of Life in London, and is an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck College, London. He has degrees in physics and theology, and a Ph D in philosophy.