ABSTRACT
The philosopher’s argumentation proceeds as follows: A good (agathos) man, a man with a sound personality, chooses a friend and is ready to offer to him if they both have common principles and wishes, and if they prefer the same things. The ancient philosopher examines the issue of self-love mainly from the moral aspect and believes that most people, however ordinary they may be, possess the good qualities that give them the right to self-love. The Stagirite raises another question— whether self-love is an egoistic trait of the personality or not. The issue may seem solely moral, but it ends up in a psychological conclusion. “All the friendly and loving feelings are derived from one’s inner self”, the philosopher concludes, and so for such a good man “it is necessary to be a self-lover, since he is thus (psychologically) able to benefit his fellow men”.
