The good life requires two things, self-knowledge and friends – you can’t have one without the other

It may seem like a paradox, but it takes good friends for someone to really understand themselves – and grow in virtue, as Aristotle argued.

By: Ross Channing Reed, Missouri University of Science and Technology, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: April 9, 2026

Words: 1,060

Last Updated: 3 months, 3 weeks ago

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By Ross Channing Reed, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Friends can help us with all kinds of things in life. How could I forget moving that piano for friends in Chicago? Fortunately, none of us ended up in the ER.

One of the most important things friends do, though, might seem surprising: They help us get to know ourselves.

Both in their 50s, Cindy and Ann had been friends since the second grade. Year after …

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