--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A friend is a second self, so that our…" description: "\"A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png" --- # A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a… ![“A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png) > “A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests a friend mirrors oneself, deepening self‑awareness. **In simple terms:** Friends help us understand ourselves. Key Takeaway Cultivate deep, reflective friendships. Themes friendship self‑knowledge identity Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - counseling - support groups - personal journaling - team building Key Concepts mirror theory interpersonal psychology existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - How does a friend reveal your blind spots? - In what ways does friendship shape identity? A Different Perspective May overstate similarity between individuals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Consciousness Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness-friend-3504620/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend/) [Friend Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-existence-3778690/) [Friend Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friend-second-1997196/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Second Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-self-624107/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-consciousness/) ## Related quotes > [In my friend, I found my second self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-friend-i-found-my-second-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In my friend, I find a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-norton/in-my-friend-i-find-a-second-self/) [Isabel Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-norton/) > [A friend is a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-is-a-second-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a friend you find a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-norton/in-a-friend-you-find-a-second-self/) [Isabelle Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-norton/) > [A friend is, as it were, a second self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-friend-is-as-it-were-a-second-self/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Try as a meditation, to be with a stone, a flower or a tree, and you will find that they have consciousness. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/try-as-a-meditation-to-be-with-a-stone-a-flower-or-a-tree-and-you/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [Because of a friend, life is a little stronger, fuller, more gracious thing for the friend's existence, whether he be near or far. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-benson/because-of-a-friend-life-is-a-little-stronger-fuller-more-gracious/) [A. C. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-benson/) > [When a woman becomes her individual most effective close friend existence is simpler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/when-a-woman-becomes-her-individual-most-effective-close-friend/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“Life is a sweeter, stronger, fuller, more gracious thing for the friend's existence, whether he be near or far. If the friend is close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-christopher-benson/life-is-a-sweeter-stronger-fuller-more-gracious-thing-for-the-friend/) [Arthur Christopher Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-christopher-benson/) > [“I had made a friend. My second one in fourteen years. I was on a roll”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-had-made-a-friend-my-second-one-in-fourteen-years-i-was-on-a-roll/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [IHate Friends That Are Like Two Face ! There Your Friend One Second Then There Your Enemy ! WTF ? That Shit Is Wrong !!! Who Agree's ???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winter-tubby/ihate-friends-that-are-like-two-face-there-your-friend-one-second/) [Winter Tubby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winter-tubby/) > [Ive relized that you can have a best friend one second then next thing you know your not sad right to bad it happends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-baker/ive-relized-that-you-can-have-a-best-friend-one-second-then-next/) [Amanda Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-baker/) > [Get your enemy to read your works in order to mend them, for your friend is so much your second self that he will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/get-your-enemy-to-read-your-works-in-order-to-mend-them-for-your/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Sister is our first friend and second mother...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunny-gupta/sister-is-our-first-friend-and-second-mother/) [Sunny Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunny-gupta/) > [“To Madeline, This subtle second self Sheaf of me Can do more than you ever could. Like you, it can leave And go Somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-creagh/to-madeline-this-subtle-second-self-sheaf-of-me-can-do-more-than-you/) [Kelly Creagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-creagh/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Conscious quotes > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [If you are not conscious of all of the different parts of yourself, the part of yourself that is the strongest will win out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/if-you-are-not-conscious-of-all-of-the-different-parts-of-yourself/) [Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/) > [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/) [D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/) > [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/) [Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [I don't think my paintings are self-conscious but you feel the consciousness of them. Without them being self-conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-think-my-paintings-are-self-conscious-but-you-feel-the/) [Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/) [Browse all 3,716 Conscious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious of our own existence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-consciousness-of-a-friend-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-consciousness-of-a-friend-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68b/aristotle-78_conscious_a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-co_1565265.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A friend is a second self, so that our consciousness of a friend's existence...makes us more fully conscious…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A friend is a second self,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-consciousness-of-a-friend-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/a-friend-is-a-second-self-so-that-our-consciousness-of-a-friend-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```