The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
Friends are different from family. We choose them and they choose us. Philosophers long wondered about what makes friendship such a distinctive relationship in our lives. Is being a good friend a kind of moral virtue? Can friends help us find our true selves? What about the dark and difficult side of friendship — toxic friends and frenemies? How is the love between friends different from romantic love? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the Sophia Club, a live philosophy event series held in Melbourne, London and New York. It is produced by Aeon Media, publishers of Aeon and Psyche. Speakers Mark Alfano — Professor of philosophy at Macquarie University, author of Moral Psychology: An Introduction, and Nietzsche's Moral Psychology. Dr Peter Knight — multi-award winning composer, trumpeter and electroacoustic musician, former artistic director of the Australian Art Orchestra. Sunny Kim — internationally renowned South Korean-born vocalist, composer, improviser, and senior lecturer in the jazz and improvisation at the University of Melbourne. Thank you to Sam Dresser (senior editor), Brigid Hains (editorial director and co-founder), and colleagues at Aeon Media.
November 19, 2025
1 hr 10 min
127 of 248
November 19, 2025
The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
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Episode 127 of 248 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
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Summary
<p>Friends are different from family. We choose them and they choose us. Philosophers long wondered about what makes friendship such a distinctive relationship in our lives. Is being a good friend a kind of moral virtue? Can friends help us find our true selves? What about the dark and difficult side of friendship — toxic friends and frenemies? How is the love between friends different from romantic love? Join Big Ideas host Natasha Mitchell and guests at the <a href="https://sophiaclub.co/">Sophia Club</a>, a live philosophy event series held in Melbourne, London and New York. It is produced by <a href="https://aeonmedia.co/">Aeon Media</a>, publishers of <a href="https://aeon.co/">Aeon </a>and <a href="https://psyche.co/">Psyche</a>.</p><p>Speakers</p><p><a href="https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/mark-alfano/">Mark Alfano</a> — Professor of philosophy at Macquarie University, author of Moral Psychology: An Introduction, and Nietzsche's Moral Psychology.</p><p><a href="https://www.peterknightmusic.com/">Dr Peter Knight </a>— multi-award winning composer, trumpeter and electroacoustic musician, former artistic director of the Australian Art Orchestra.</p><p><a href="https://www.sunnykimmusic.com/">Sunny Kim </a>— internationally renowned South Korean-born vocalist, composer, improviser, and senior lecturer in the jazz and improvisation at the University of Melbourne.</p><p>Thank you to <a href="https://aeon.co/users/samdresser">Sam Dresser </a>(senior editor), <a href="https://aeon.co/users/brigidhains">Brigid Hains</a> (editorial director and co-founder), and colleagues at Aeon Media.</p>