Just friends

the ethics of (postmodern) relationships

Hugh J. Silverman

pp. 181-193

in: Julia Jansen (ed), Critical communities and aesthetic practices, Berlin, Springer, 2012

Abstract

Just Friends… Is it possible to be just friends? Who are just friends and who are not? Are just friends only friends if there is something more to it? The friends who are only friends are they friends because they have decided that they shall be nothing more – no love relation, no special interest, no intrigue – just friends? Or are they just friends because if there were anything more, then their relation might not be the kind of trust that would arise were they "really true friends?" Or are they just friends because there is a justice to their friendship – and hence a kind of friendship that resides elsewhere than in some decision effected by two or more persons. In this article I will discuss: I. Justice without Friendship; II. Friendship without Justice; III. The Justice of Friendship (a. Modern Friends – With Justice and Liberty for All; b. The Justice of Postmodern Friendships)