Harry Potter as Philosophy: Five Types of Friendship

The Harry Potter Cinematic Universe is a fertile ground for philosophical cultivation. In this chapter, the films are used to explain and expand upon Aristotle’s theory of friendship. Aristotle’s theory identifies three types of friendship: friendships for virtue, pleasure, and utility. The Harry Potter films, however, suggest a modification of this view to allow for five types of friendships. Throughout the series we see that friendships for pleasure and utility come in both beneficent and maleficent forms. A key element in this distinction is whether the motivations for forming these friendships are other-regarding or self-regarding.