Htqe.2025.18

https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2025.18 | 261-271 | PDF

The Interplay between Deep Friendship and Moral Development: A Conceptual Study

Manuel Joaquín Fernández González¹
¹Scientific Institute of Pedagogy, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia

Abstract
Friendships have a big influence on health and happiness. True friendship is also crucial for living a moral live. However, the conceptual relationships between friendship and moral growth are controversial and understudied. The objective of the research presented in this paper is to advance moral education theory by discussing the core characteristics of friendship and its relationship with moral growth. The research questions addressed in this study are: How is friendship conceptualized in the works of key Western philosophers? How is the interplay between moral growth and deep friendship theorized in recent scientific literature?

Methodologically, the research design is based on content analysis of friendship theory in academic literature. To address the first research question, the works of three key Western philosophers were analysed, namely, Aristotle, C.S. Lewis and A. MacIntyre. The interplay between friendship and moral growth was explored in the works of K. Kristjánsson, L. Polo and A. Rajský.

The results indicate that friendship fosters happiness, virtue, and knowledge of truth. It involves intimacy, shared interests, and moral growth. True friendship is rare, selfless, and a gift requiring openness, honesty, and mutual care beyond mere companionship or utility. The discussion about the interplay between friendship and the moral life revealed that, while the ‘friendship for virtue’ approach sees friendship as aiding moral growth, the ‘virtue for friendship’ approach prioritizes friendship as the ultimate moral goal, with virtues sustaining it. This research is coherent with the national priorities of Latvia and with the priorities of the education sector and is a theoretical contribution for generating practical knowledge in the future, investigating empirically the relationship between friendship and moral growth and designing educational programs for promoting virtue-based friendships at school. Suggestions for further research were also put forward.

Keywords: Friendship, happiness, moral growth, moral philosophy, virtue for friendship

In: Human, Technologies and Quality of Education, 2025. Proceedings of Scientific Papers = Cilvēks, tehnoloģijas un izglītības kvalitāte, 2025. Rakstu krājums.  Ed. L. Daniela. Riga: University of Latvia, 2025. 698 p.
ISBN 978-9934-36-461-7 
https://doi.org/10.22364/htqe.2025