What does this research mean for the field?

Mary Astell's concept of friendship is characterized by a fundamental tension between its relational dimension as 'charity contracted' and its functional dimension as a tool for moral improvement where even enemies act as monitors. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.NOVEL_FINDING. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This analysis investigates Mary Astell’s concept of friendship as it evolves from her early to later works.

May 20, 20260 citationsOpen Access

Enemies as the Truest Friends

DTDe TommasoIULM University

Key Points

This analysis investigates Mary Astell’s concept of friendship as it evolves from her early to later works.
Examined the writings of Mary Astell, focusing on themes of friendship across her works.
Engaged with current scholarly debates regarding friendship and moral philosophy.
Proposed a new reading of Astell's notion of friendship emphasizing relational and functional tensions.
Identified friendship as a dual concept encompassing charity and moral admonition.
Demonstrated that Astell considers even enemies as crucial monitors for personal growth.
Highlighted the unresolved tensions between the relational and functional aspects of friendship in Astell’s philosophy.

Abstract

This paper examines Mary Astell’s notion of friendship from her early to mature works, showing how it appears both as "charity contracted" between "sister souls" and as "Christian admonition" for moral improvement, where even enemies become "monitors". Engaging current debate, the article proposes an unexplored reading that stresses the tension between the relational and functional dimensions of Astell’s idea of friendship.

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