EPISODE · Nov 19, 2025 · 1H 10M
The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
from Big Ideas · host Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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.SpeakersMark 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.
What this episode covers
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.
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The Sophia Club live philosophy — what are friends for?
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